E? 

3445     mm 

1906        ^1 

■ 

//  /<? ,  o  <^ 


^^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  \^ 

Purchased   by  the  Hamill   Missionary   Fund. 


BV  3445  .16  1906 
Imbrie,  William,  1845-1928. 
The  Church  of  Christ  in 
Japan 


The  Church  of  Christ 
in  Japan 


A  COURSE  OF  LECTURES 


WILLIAM  M.  IMBRIE,  D.D. 


PHILADELPHIA 
THE  WESTMINSTER  PRESS 


Copyright,  1906,  by 

THE    TRUSTEES    OF    THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION 
AND  SABBATH-SCHOOL  WORK 


CONTENTS 


Lecture      I.— The  Environment. 

Lecture    IL— A  Bird's-eye  View. 

Lecture  IIL— Methods  of  Work. 

Lecture  IV.— Notable  Events  in  The 
History  of  the  Church. 


Lecture  One 

THE  ENVIRONMENT 


LECTURE   I 

The  Environment 

I  never  shall  forget  the  day,  thirty  years  ago 
next  September,  when  I  first  caught  sight  of 
the  shores  of  Japan.  It  was  early  on  a  beauti- 
ful Sunday  morning;  and  when  I  came  on  deck 
the  steamer  was  making  its  way  through  the 
fleets  of  fishing  boats  rising  and  falling  on  the 
long,  heavy  swells  of  the  ocean.  As  we  drew 
nearer  land,  we  could  see  the  villages  of  the 
fishermen;  and  here  and  there,  half  hidden  in 
the  recesses  of  the  hills,  the  little  shrines  and 
temples.  Beyond  and  over  all  towered  the 
magnificent  cone  of  Mount  Fuji,  with  the  clouds 
lightly  resting  on  its  summit.  I  thought  of  the 
past  and  the  future,  and  pictured  to  myself  the 
life  that  lay  before  me;  a  life  so  different  in 
most  of  its  details  from  the  picture  that  I  painted. 

My  life,  like  the  lives  of  all,  has  had  Its  shad- 
ows. There  have  been  times  in  the  history  of 
the  church  when  I  could  not  sleep  at  night. 
In  a  very  true  sense,  I  am  a  man  without  a 
country.  As  I  go  from  place  to  place  here  at 
home,  I  seldom  see  a  familiar  face.  I  know 
too  what  it  is  to  have  a  broken  household.  But 
I  know  also  that  my  life  has  been  one  full  of 
7 


8         THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

interest.  It  has  been  a  great  privilege  to  have 
a  part  in  the  founding  and  establishment  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan.  And  sometimes  it 
is  a  comfort  at  least  to  think  that  my  life  has 
counted  for  more  in  Japan  than  it  would  have 
done  in  America. 

The  history  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan 
since  its  first  founding,  now  a  little  more  than 
thirty  years  ago,  is  so  crowded  with  material 
that  I  cannot  attempt  to  do  more  than  sketch 
an  outline.  So  true  is  this,  that  I  was  half 
persuaded  to  say  little  or  nothing  regarding  the 
general  environment.  But  the  environment  is 
really  a  part  of  the  story,  the  background  neces- 
sary to  the  picture.  Therefore,  though  some  of 
what  I  shall  say  this  evening  may  be  more  or 
less  familiar  to  you,  I  will  ask  you  to  hear  it 
again. 

Japan  curves  like  a  crescent  round  a  long 
stretch  of  the  coast  of  eastern  Asia,  and  its  cli- 
mate varies  with  the  locality.  In  the  extreme 
north  the  winters  are  very  cold;  the  mercury 
at  Asahigawa,  our  most  northerly  station,  some- 
times falling  to  thirty  degrees  below  zero;  while 
in  the  extreme  southwest  the  climate  is  almost 
semitropical.  Down  and  to  the  west  of  the 
center  line  of  the  main  island  runs  a  range  of 
mountains,  which  produces  marked  differences 
in  the  climate,  especially  in  winter.  The  winds 
from  the  Sea  of  Japan  come  heavy  with  mois- 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  9 

ture;  and  striking  the  mountains  let  fall  most 
of  their  burden  on  the  west  coast,  covering  it 
all  winter  long  with  snow,  in  some  places  eight 
feet  deep.  The  broader  part  of  the  island  to 
the  east  of  the  range  has,  therefore,  compara- 
tively little  snow;  and  the  little  that  falls  soon 
disappears.  In  the  summer,  the  mercury  sel- 
dom if  ever  rises  so  high  as  it  sometimes  does 
in  New  York  City;  but  the  season  lasts  a  month 
longer,  the  heat  is  more  continuous,  and  the  rays 
of  the  sun  more  penetrating.  The  resident  of 
Tokyo  or  Osaka  often  looks  in  vain  for  the  cold 
wave  which  so  regularly  comes  rolling  across 
the  United  States.  In  winter,  too,  in  this  cen- 
tral and  southern  section,  the  weather  is  never 
nearly  so  cold  as  it  often  is  in  Pennsylvania  or 
New  York.  It  is  only  very  rarely  that  ice  forms 
in  Tokyo  thick  enough  to  bear  one's  weight. 
But  during  most  of  the  year  the  atmosphere  is 
moist;  and  so  the  summers  are  sultry  and  the 
winters  are  raw.  From  June  to  September, 
nearly  everything  molds ;  and  the  foreigner  needs 
fire  in  his  house  from  November  to  April.  But 
having  said  so  much,  I  hasten  to  add  that  in  the 
late  autumn  and  early  winter  the  weather  is 
charming. 

There  is  in  Japan  no  Niagara,  nor  any  Yellow 
Stone  Park  or  Yosemite,  but  there  are  the  In- 
land Sea  and  Fuji  and  Nikko;  and  go  almost 
where  one  may,  the  scenery  is  beautiful  and  pic- 


10       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

turesque,  with  a  beauty  and  picturesqueness  of 
its  own.  There  are  the  mountains  with  sharper 
curves  than  our  own;  and  the  mountain  passes 
with  their  rushing  streams.  There  are  Biwa  and 
Hakone  and  Chuzenji,  and  many  another  placid 
lake.  There  are  waterfalls  innumerable  in  the 
deep  and  silent  woods;  and  ridges  upon  which 
one  may  stand  and  watch  the  purple  shadows  of 
the  clouds  crossing  the  waters  of  the  lake  far 
beneath  him,  or  out  over  the  broad  Pacific  or 
the  Sea  of  Japan.  There  are  the  hazy  islands  and 
the  smoking  volcanoes. 

As  one  travels  through  the  country,  the  people 
are  at  work  picking  the  tea  leaves,  or  feeding  the 
silkworms,  or  busy  reeling  the  silk  from  the 
cocoons.  On  the  plains  and  the  terraced  hill- 
sides are  the  rice  fields  in  living  green ;  and  there 
are  golden  orange  groves.  The  tall  white  herons 
are  wading  on  the  irrigated  land  or  wheeling 
away  in  flight;  and  in  the  spring  time,  early  in 
the  morning,  high  overhead  carols  the  skylark. 
The  ditches  along  the  roadside,  the  margins  of 
the  ponds,  and  the  moats  round  the  old  castle 
walls,  are  filled  with  the  lotus  flowers,  which  are 
purple  or  white,  and  striking  at  a  distance,  but  not 
delicate  in  beauty  like  our  own  water  lilies.  The 
feathery  bamboo  makes  a  home  for  itself  almost 
everywhere,  of  many  kinds ;  some  nearly  square ; 
but  all  light  and  tall  and  graceful.  Nor  are  they 
beautiful  only,  but  useful  also;  used  for  almost 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  ii 

everything.  There,  too,  in  the  woods  stands  the 
many-hued  camellia — white  and  red  and  pink  and 
variegated — a  tree  forty  feet  in  height.  What 
the  chrysanthemum  is  in  Japan  you  know,  for 
it  has  now  come  to  America.  But  the  cherry 
blossom  you  do  not  know,  for  it  never  has  left 
its  home.  The  tree  bears  no  fruit;  it  is  planted 
solely  for  the  sake  of  the  flowers,  they  are  so 
beautiful. 

In  many  parts  of  Japan  there  are  old  and  fa- 
mous castles  and  temples  with  stately  roofs  vis- 
ible from  a  distance;  and  in  every  nook  and  cor- 
ner of  the  land  are  to  be  found  the  little  wayside 
shrines,  many  of  them  with  stone  images  of  foxes. 
For  in  Japan  there  are  foxes,  sni  generis;  little 
invisible  foxes  which  enter  in  and  take  posses- 
sion. Foreigners  may  smile  at  it,  but  it  is  well 
to  be  wary.  To  mention  only  one  thing  more: 
In  the  summer  time,  on  the  country  roads,  con- 
stantly are  seen  the  bands  of  pilgrims.  In  his 
hand  the  pilgrim  carries  a  staff ;  his  dress  is  white, 
or  rather  once  was  white;  from  his  girdle  hangs 
a  tinkling  bell.  The  band  is  on  its  way  to  visit 
ancient  temples,  to  bathe  under  famous  water- 
falls, to  worship  at  sunrise  on  the  summits  of 
sacred  mountains.  So  much  for  a  glimpse  of 
the  country.  A  glimpse  now  at  Tokyo;  and 
that  will  serve  for  other  cities  also. 

The  houses  are  mostly  one  or  two  stories  high, 
occasionally  three;  and  commonly  small.     Here 


12       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

and  there,  however,  as  one  looks  over  the  city 
from  some  elevated  spot,  his  view  is  intercepted 
by  some  modern  building  in  foreign  style,  or  by 
the  great  temples  with  their  heavy  curving  roofs. 
There  is  also  the  Imperial  Residence;  a  group 
of  buildings  in  Japanese  style,  with  a  beautiful 
garden  attached,  now  seldom  accessible  to  for- 
eigners. There  are  parks,  too,  and  groves  with 
fine  old  trees.  The  city,  which  is  eight  or  ten 
miles  across  and  has  a  population  of  more  than 
a  million  and  a  quarter,  is  supplied  with  an 
elaborate  system  of  canals ;  and  most  of  the  heavy 
traffic  is  thus  done  by  water. 

The  sights  to  be  seen  and  the  sounds  to  be 
heard  in  the  streets  are  innumerable.  You  will 
not  expect  more  than  a  meager  list.  Soldiers 
everywhere;  for  the  day  of  battle  now  come  has 
long  been  looked  for.  Coolies;  a  sight  once 
seen  never  forgotten.  Strong  men  scantily  clad, 
pushing  lumber  and  stone  and  boxes  of  mer- 
chandise on  two-wheeled  drays,  and  keeping  time 
as  they  work  like  sailors  at  the  ropes.  Blind 
men ;  so  many  blind  men ;  more  in  a  day  than  one 
meets  in  New  York  in  a  month.  Boy  acrobats 
with  a  headgear  supposed  to  make  them  look  like 
lions;  and  ready  for  a  penny  to  turn  themselves 
almost  inside  out.  Story-tellers,  telling  their 
stories  to  listening  crowds ;  often  stories  not  to  be 
listened  to.  Dancing  girls  in  their  bright  red 
skirts.     Begging   priests   going    from   house   to 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  13 

house,  commonly  in  pairs.  One  carries  a  staff 
with  iron  rings,  which  he  strikes  upon  the  ground 
as  he  walks  to  frighten  away,  with  the  rattle  of 
the  rings,  any  passing  insect  that  he  might  per- 
chance tread  upon.  The  other  carries  a  bowl  to 
receive  the  gifts  of  the  faithful. 

Many  games  are  played  in  the  streets.  There 
is  battledore  and  shuttlecock.  The  battledore  is 
made  of  wood,  and  the  shuttlecock  is  smaller  than 
ours  and  hard.  The  players  form  a  square  and 
send  the  shuttlecock  from  one  to  another  around 
the  square.  Whenever  one  misses,  the  others 
black  his  face.  Not  only  boys  and  girls,  but  young 
men  and  women  play  this;  and  the  streets  are 
full  of  them  and  their  laughter.  Kite-flying,  too, 
is  a  favorite;  and  the  kites  are  of  many  a  form. 
Some  like  bats  with  wings  extended;  some 
like  dragons;  but  most  of  them  oblong  and 
like  a  cylinder  cut  in  two  down  the  middle.  The 
ends  of  the  bows,  both  upper  and  lower,  are 
joined  by  cords,  and  when  the  wind  blows  fresh 
the  cords  hum;  hum  like  belated  bumblebees 
hurrying  home  in  haste.  At  the  height  of  the 
season,  the  city  is  full  of  them.  Then  there  is 
the  pancake  man.  He  carries  a  little  charcoal 
stove  with  a  griddle  on  top ;  also  a  bottle  of  bat- 
ter and  syrup  for  the  cakes  to  be  made.  The  boys 
and  the  girls  do  their  own  baking.  The  cakes 
consist  of  the  batter,  the  syrup,  and  of  what  was 
on  the  hands  before  the  baking  began.    The  trade 


i4       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

of  the  pancake  man  is  a  very  seductive  trade. 
The  boys  and  the  girls  gather  round  him  almost 
as  thick  as  the  flies  round  the  cakes.  These  are 
the  games  of  Old  Japan;  New  Japan  is  quite 
given  over  to  baseball. 

This  is  to  give  you  in  passing  a  little  of  the 
local  color;  but  it  will  also,  I  think,  make  you 
feel  more  deeply  that  God  hath  made  of  one  every 
nation.  But  before  leaving  the  sights  of  the  cities, 
there  is  one  thing  upon  which  I  may  properly 
dwell  with  somewhat  greater  fullness  of  detail — 
the  temples  and  the  temple-worship.  For  Bud- 
dhism is  still  the  religion  of  the  people. 

There  is  no  better  place  in  all  Japan  to  see  the 
populace  worship  than  the  Temple  of  Kwannon, 
commonly  called  from  the  district  of  Tokyo  in 
which  it  is  situated,  the  Asakusa  Temple.  There 
worshipers  are  always  to  be  found;  and  on  cer- 
tain days  in  the  year,  when  those  who  come 
acquire  a  high  degree  of  merit,  the  temple 
grounds  are  thronged  with  crowds  in  gay  attire — 
a  brilliant  show. 

The  approach  to  the  temple  is  an  avenue  lined 
on  both  sides  with  little  shops,  all  open  to  the 
street,  as  is  the  custom  in  Japan.  In  these  are 
sold  odds  and  ends  of  every  kind :  Cakes  and  can- 
dies; dolls  and  other  toys  of  many  sorts;  pipes, 
fans,  and  rosaries.  For  the  rosary  is  common 
to  Buddhism,  also.  In  the  rear  of  the  temple  and 
on  either  side  of  it  are  shows  of  all  kinds :  Aero- 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  15 

bats,  jugglers,  trained  birds,  panoramas,  thea- 
ters, and  an  aquarium  of  marine  fishes  beautiful 
and  curious  beyond  description.  Close  by  also 
lurks  the  Toshiwara,  the  scarlet  City  of  Night. 

At  the  end  of  the  approach  stands  the  gate ;  a 
large  building  supported  by  pillars  and  painted 
bright  vermilion.  To  right  and  left,  as  one 
passes  through  the  entrance  way  under  the  gate, 
are  two  great  wooden  images  called  Nio,  the 
guardians  of  the  place.  Beyond  them  are 
stretched  wire  nettings;  and  on  these  nettings 
hang  straw  sandals,  some  of  them  the  usual  size, 
and  some  two  feet  long.  These  are  offerings  sus- 
pended there  by  jinrikisha  men  or  others  who  are 
slow  of  foot,  either  by  disease  or  birth,  in  the 
hope  of  bettering  their  speed.  The  Nio  them- 
selves are  spattered  over  with  spitballs — origin- 
ally bits  of  paper  with  prayers  written  on  them. 
If  the  spitball  thrown  through  the  netting  sticks 
to  the  image,  the  hope  of  the  petitioner  for  a 
favorable  response  rises  higher. 

Passing  through  the  gateway  one  enters  the 
temple  inclosure.  In  this  open  square  are  hung 
stone  lanterns.  On  the  ground,  on  the  temple 
roof,  inside  the  temple  itself,  or  rising  suddenly 
in  flocks,  fluttering,  cooing,  whirling  in  the  air, 
so  tame  as  to  be  in  constant  danger  of  being 
trodden  on,  and  eager  to  be  fed  with  the  seeds 
for  sale  at  hand,  are  hundreds  of  pigeons.  To 
the  right  is  a  tall  pagoda,  seven  or  eight  stories 


i6       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

high,  red  like  the  gate^  and  surmounted  by  a 
tall  ornament  of  bronze  rings  rising  one  above 
the  other,  on  top  of  which  frequently  perches  a 
crow  or  a  kite,  constantly  present  in  the  cities 
of  Japan,  surveying  the  scene  below.  Nearer  to 
the  temple  and  still  to  the  right  stood,  until 
recently,  a  building  containing  what  many  travel- 
ers have  described  as  a  prayer  wheel.  This  is  an 
error.  The  great  octagonal  red  lacquered  box, 
resting  on  a  pivot  fitted  into  the  stone  floor  and 
with  handles  like  the  spokes  of  a  capstan,  was  not 
a  prayer  wheel,  but  a  revolving  library.  Inside 
was  a  collection  of  the  sacred  books  of  Bud- 
dhism; and  he  who  turned  the  library  laid  up  a 
store  of  merit  equal  to  that  of  him  who  read  the 
books.  I  have  several  times  turned  the  library 
myself. 

The  temple  is  a  large  structure  with  the  usual 
heavy  curving  temple  roof  supported  on  pillars. 
Like  the  other  buildings,  it  is  vermilion,  except 
the  roof  which  is  black  tiling  ornamented  with 
bronze.  The  ascent  to  the  entrance  is  a  broad 
flight  of  steps.  Directly  in  front  of  the  middle 
of  the  entrance  hangs  a  heavy  rope,  so  hung  that 
the  worshiper  can  strike  it  against  a  large  flat 
bell  with  a  long  opening  much  like  that  of  a 
sleigh  bell.  That  gives  notice  of  his  approach. 
Just  inside  of  the  entrance  is  a  large  bronze  ves- 
sel containing  coals  of  fire  on  which  the  devotee 
deposits   a  pinch  of   incense,   little   different   in 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  17 

composition  from  the  punk  with  which  we  light 
our  firecrackers  except  that  it  is  made  into  sticks 
as  slender  as  steel  knitting  needles. 

Once  past  the  incense  brazier  there  are  many 
things  to  attract  the  eye:  Pictures  of  tigers  and 
dragons  on  the  walls;  huge  paper  lanterns  hang- 
ing from  the  ceiling;  mirrors,  pigeons,  and  dirt; 
but  four  things  also  of  special  interest.  Two 
men  are  selling  charms  to  many  buyers.  There 
is  a  black  wooden  image,  perhaps  two  feet  high, 
its  nose  and  mouth  all  worn  away.  One  needs 
to  wait  but  a  moment  to  learn  why.  A  mother 
comes  with  a  child ;  she  passes  her  hand  over  the 
face  or  the  arm  of  the  image,  and  then  over  the 
face  or  arm  of  the  child.  She  thinks  that  virtue 
goes  out  of  the  image.  These  things  are  to  the 
right  of  the  sanctuary. 

To  the  left  of  the  sanctuary  is  the  place  of 
divination,  the  oracle.  Here  the  people  come  in 
a  steady  stream ;  some  one  is  always  there.  Two 
or  more  priests  are  in  attendance.  One  holds  a 
box  containing  sticks  about  the  size  of  a  lead 
pencil,  but  flat,  and  each  one  numbered.  The 
priest  shakes  the  box  until  a  stick  flies  out  of  a 
hole  in  the  top.  Alongside  of  the  second  priest 
is  a  case  filled  with  little  drawers.  He  opens  the 
drawer  corresponding  to  the  number  on  the  stick, 
and  delivers  one  of  the  printed  answers  which 
the  drawer  contains.  Perhaps  it  will  interest  you 
to  learn  what  sort  of  answers  these  oracles  return. 


i8       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

There  is  in  the  city  of  Osaka  a  celebrated  temple 
known  as  Tennoji,  and  a  number  of  years  ago, 
during  the  sessions  of  synod,  some  of  the  mem- 
bers strolled  into  the  temple.  The  question  in 
the  minds  of  all  was  that  of  the  union  then  con- 
templated with  the  Congregational  churches. 
Would  the  union  be  accomplished?  And  if  so, 
what  would  the  outcome  be?  In  the  spirit  of 
fun  and  curiosity,  one  of  the  Japanese  members 
of  the  synod  proposed  to  stop  and  see  what  the 
old  priest  with  his  shaven  head  and  stolid  face 
could  tell  them.  This  is  the  answer  that  came  out 
of  the  little  drawer:  "It  will  mount  to  heaven  on 
the  wings  of  faith.  The  vessel  will  come  home 
laden  with  treasure.  It  will  do  good  in  the 
future ;  and  will  win  the  applause  of  the  great." 
That  is  a  part  of  the  secret  history  of  the  church 
in  Japan. 

Between  the  seller  of  charms  on  the  right,  and 
the  oracle  on  the  left,  is  the  place  of  worship. 
The  idol  stands  on  a  raised  platform  in  a  room 
in  the  rear — a  large  figure  covered  with  gilt,  and 
with  various  ornaments  chiefly  of  bronze  in 
front  of  it.  All  is  lighted  with  candles  and 
dimly  visible  to  the  worshiper  through  a  wire 
netting  set  in  the  wall  between  the  two  rooms. 
The  worshipers  come  in  a  constant  succession, 
men,  women,  and  children.  Each  throws  a  small 
copper  coin  into  a  long  box  at  the  foot  of  the 
wire  netting.     The  men  and  women  bow  their 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  19 

heads  on  tlieir  breasts ;  bring  their  hands  together 
below  their  bowed  faces;  and  repeat  the  words, 
Namu  Amida  Buttsu — Hail,  Eternal  Buddha.  The 
children  bow  their  heads  and  bring  their  hands 
together.  Some  of  them  are  not  old  enough  yet  to 
repeat  the  words;  but  they  will  learn  them  soon. 

One  day,  now  many  years  ago,  I  was  standing 
in  this  temple  with  a  Japanese  who  knew  Bud- 
dhism through  and  through.  We  watched  the 
people  coming  and  going.  Most  of  them  were 
indifferent,  gazing  about  while  their  lips  moved ; 
but  others  were  reverent  in  manner  and  some 
over  importunate.  I  asked  him  about  them,  and 
in  particular  what  they  prayed  for.  "No,"  said 
he,  "they  never  pray  for  such  things — for  the 
forgiveness  of  sin,  for  a  new  life,  for  what  we  call 
spiritual  blessings.  Some  of  their  prayers  are  for 
recovery  from  sickness ;  some  for  success  in  some 
business  venture;  in  general  most  of  them  are 
for  good  luck." 

In  many  of  the  temples,  usually  on  certain  fixed 
days  of  the  month,  there  is  preaching.  One  occa- 
sion, when  I  attended  a  preaching  service  in  com- 
pany with  Ishimoto,who  as  some  of  you  know  lies 
here  in  the  old  graveyard,  comes  back  to  me  as 
if  it  were  yesterday.  The  preacher  was  a  learned 
priest  from  Kyoto,  old  and  mumbling  in  speech, 
with  the  unmistakable  face  of  a  priest,  and  splen- 
did in  red  and  gold.  The  people,  separated  from 
him  by  a  slight  railing,  sat  in  Japanese  fashion 


20       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

on  the  mats  with  which  the  floor  of  the  temple 
was  covered.  The  preacher  sat,  Hkewise,  in 
Japanese  fashion,  on  a  low  pulpit.  It  was  the 
time  when  the  plum  is  in  perfection;  and  the 
pulpit  was  decked  with  its  blossoms.  For  awhile 
an  attendant  kept  striking  together  two  square 
sticks  of  hard  resonant  wood,  which  gave  forth 
a  clear  and  almost  musical  sound.  That  was  the 
call  to  the  people  to  listen.  Another  attendant 
kept  beating  on  the  edge  of  a  heavy  bronze  bowl, 
which  filled  all  the  temple  with  its  rich  mellow 
tones.    That  was  the  call  to  Buddha  to  hear. 

The  preacher  began  by  repeating  the  words 
now  familiar  to  you  from  the  worship  at  Asa- 
kusa:  Namu  Amida  Buttsu — Hail  Eternal  Bud- 
dha. Not  once  or  twice,  but  a  dozen  times ;  and 
at  each  repetition  preacher  and  people  bowed  low. 
There  are  some,  the  preacher  said,  in  a  sermon- 
ette  perhaps  ten  minutes  long,  who  never  say  the 
words,  Namu  Amida  Buttsu ;  and  there  are  some 
who  often  say  the  words  but  who  are  very  remiss 
about  the  daily  duties  of  life.  Neither  class  is 
right;  each  forgets  something  of  prime  impor- 
tance; one  should  do  both.  The  sermon  ended 
with  another  repetition  of  the  phrase;  all  again 
joining  in  and  all  bowing  low.  Which  was  it? 
Was  it  a  thinking  that  they  should  be  heard  for 
their  much  speaking?  or,  Was  it  a  feeling  after 
God  if  haply  they  might  find  him  ?  Which  was  it  ? 
or.  Was  it  not  both? 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  21 

The  ancient  religion  of  Japan  was  Shintoism. 
According  to  its  mythology,  the  emperor  is  the 
descendant  of  the  gods;  and  I  fancy  that  the 
patriotism  of  the  Japanese,  centering  as  it  does  in 
loyalty  to  and  reverence  for  the  emperor,  is 
indirectly  at  least  to  some  extent  connected  with 
that  old  belief.  The  emperor  is  himself  a  Shin- 
toist  and  there  are  many  Shinto  priests  and  tem- 
ples ;  but  the  mass  of  the  people  are  Buddhists. 

But  while  the  nation  as  a  nation  is  Buddhist, 
the  educated  Japanese  as  a  rule  is  Confucian  in 
his  beliefs.  He  may  on  certain  occasions  go  to 
a  Shinto  shrine  and  take  part  in  Shinto  rites; 
but  when  he  is  himself  borne  to  the  tomb,  most 
likely  it  will  be  with  the  funeral  ceremonies  of 
Buddhism.  But  in  his  heart  and  life  he  is  a 
Confucianist.  There  may  be  another  world ;  there 
may  be  a  life  of  the  world  to  come;  but  these 
are  things  that  he  does  not  know ;  that  he  cannot 
know.  The  Hfe  with  which  he  has  to  do  is  the  life 
that  now  is.  When  the  scholar  asked  the  master, 
"What  is  death?"  Confucius  answered,  "We 
know  not  life;  how  then  can  we  know  death?" 
That  is  Confucianism  in  a  nutshell.  So  far  as  re- 
ligion is  concerned  it  is  thoroughgoing  agnosti- 
cism, with  pantheism  for  a  philosophy.  There  are 
wonderful  changes  going  on  in  Japan,  and  Bud- 
dhism and  Confucianism  are  not  what  they  have 
been.  But  they  are  still  great  forces;  and  their 
influence  upon   the  thinking  and   living  of  the 


22       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  I  ARAN 

people  is  wide  and  deep.  No,  the  Christianiza- 
tion  of  the  nation  is  not  to  be  accompHshed  in  a 
day.  Nevertheless,  as  I  shall  show  you,  there  is 
a  sign  in  the  sky ;  and  that  sign  is  the  sign  of  the 
Cross. 

But  what  of  the  people  themselves  ?  The  longer 
one  lives  in  Japan  the  less  the  disposition  to 
generalize  with  confidence  and  without  qualifica- 
tion. Still  there  are  certain  marks  which  will 
strike  most  old  residents  as  characteristic. 

The  ideals  of  a  Japanese  gentleman — often  also 
governing  his  bearing — are  dignity  and  self-con- 
trol. With  a  courtesy  that  is  charming  there  is 
sometimes  a  lack  of  consideration  that  excites  sur- 
prise. Exceedingly  practical  and  expert  in  atten- 
tion to  details,  the  Japanese  cares  but  little  for 
academic  discussion.  Of  his  ability  to  organize, 
the  world  needs  now  no  proof.  With  perhaps  an 
overregard  for  rules  and  red  tape,  few  others  are 
more  powerfully  influenced  by  a  personality  in 
which  strength  is  joined  to  tact.  The  Japanese 
is  not  given  to  telling  all  he  knows,  and  not  averse 
at  times  to  accomplishing  his  ends  indirectly.  The 
"innocent  face"  is  a  common  expression ;  and  yet 
at  times  he  is  singularly  outspoken.  It  is  hardly 
too  much  to  say  that  compromise  is  a  rule  of  life.. 
No  matter  which  side  is  right,  commonly  both 
sides  must  yield  something ;  one's  pride  as  well  as 
one's  rights  deserves  consideration.  With  a  read- 
iness to  toil  or  to  battle,  if  needs  be  to  the  end. 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  23 

there  is  to  a  peculiar  degree  a  stoical  recognition 
and  acceptance  of  the  inevitable,  when  the  inevi- 
table is  sure  to  be  inevitable.  One  of  the  first 
expressions  picked  up  by  every  foreigner  is 
Shikati  ga  nai — there  is  no  hope  for  it.  It  is  often 
said  that  the  Japanese  are  preeminently  fickle; 
and  the  constant  proof  of  this  is  the  change  after 
change  abundantly  in  evidence ;  but  this  is  a 
superficial  judgment.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  whole  nation  to-day  is  in  an  era  of  tran- 
sition; a  transition  involving  government,  laws, 
education,  commerce,  manufactures,  customs, 
and  religion.  Of  necessity,  therefore,  the  era  is 
one  of  experiment  and  therefore  of  change. 
Moreover  it  will  not  do  to  make  a  single  genera- 
tion count  for  everything  and  centuries  for  noth- 
ing. If  to-day  there  is  a  New  Japan,  there  was 
once  and  there  is  still  an  Old  Japan,  careful  of 
change,  strongly  influenced  by  precedent.  And, 
by  and  by,  it  is  reasonable  to  think  that  the  spirit 
of  Old  Japan  will  reassert  itself. 

But  the  thing  of  all  others  which  strikes  the  old 
resident  of  Japan  as  peculiarly  characteristic  of 
the  nation,  is  the  thing  which  strikes  the  mind  of 
men  the  world  over.  It  is  the  ability  of  the  nation 
as  a  nation  to  accept,  to  adapt  to  its  own  require- 
ments, and  then  to  assimilate  the  products  and 
even  the  essential  elements  of  a  foreign  civiliza- 
tion. This  is  what  we  now  see  going  on,  and  we 
wonder  at  it.    But  what  in  some  respects  is  per- 


24       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

haps  the  thing  of  greater  interest  in  it  all  is  some- 
thing that  has  not  been  given  the  emphasis  which 
it  deserves, — the  fact  that  history  is  only  now  re- 
peating itself.  Once  it  was  the  civilization  of 
China;  now  it  is  that  of  Europe. 

But  two  questions  arise;  questions  of  deep  in- 
terest to  the  world  and  of  still  deeper  interest  to 
the  Christian.  Is  Japan  adopting  only  the  ma- 
terial products  of  the  civilization  of  the  West, 
content  to  neglect  the  elements  of  higher  value? 
And  to  be  still  more  particular.  What  is,  and  what 
is  still  to  be,  her  attitude  as  regards  the  religion 
of  Christ? 

Shortly  before  I  left  Japan,  I  was  invited  to 
call  upon  the  Prime  Minister.  The  reason  why 
I  was  invited  was  because  he  thought  it  worth 
while  to  say  something  to  a  missionary  going 
home  about  the  so-called  yellow  peril ;  and  at  the 
close  of  the  conversation  he  asked  me  to  tell  the 
Christian  people  in  America  what  he  said.  By 
arrangement  with  him  I  wrote  an  account  of  the 
interview,  and  with  his  sanction  published  it  in 
Japan.  A  part  of  that  account  will  supply  his 
answer  to  the  questions  raised :  What  is  the  atti- 
tude of  Japan  toward  Christianity?  and.  Is  she 
adopting  only  the  more  material  products  of  the 
civilization  of  the  West?  This  is  the  substance 
of  what  the  Prime  Minister  said : — 

"The  argument  against  Japan  is,"  said  he, 
"sometimes  put  in  this  form:  Russia  stands  for 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  25 

Christianity,  and  Japan  stands  for  Buddhism. 
The  truth  is  that  Japan  stands  for  reHgious 
freedom.  In  Japan  a  man  may  be  a  Buddhist,  a 
Christian,  or  even  a  Jew,  without  suffering  for 
it.  That  is  a  principle  embodied  in  her  Con- 
stitution ;  and  her  practice  is  in  accordance  with 
the  principle. 

"There  are  Christian  churches  in  every  large 
city,  and  in  almost  every  large  town,  in  Japan ; 
and  they  all  have  complete  freedom  to  teach  and 
worship  in  accordance  with  their  own  convic- 
tions. There  are  numerous  Christian  newspapers 
and  magazines,  which  obtain  their  licenses  pre- 
cisely as  other  newspapers  and  magazines;  and 
as  a  matter  of  course.  Christian  schools,  some  of 
them  conducted  by  foreigners  and  some  by  Jap- 
anese, are  found  everywhere.  There  are  few 
things  which  are  a  better  proof  of  the  recogni- 
tion of  rights  than  the  right  to  hold  property.  In 
many  cases,  associations  composed  of  foreign 
missionaries  permanently  residing  in  Japan  have 
been  incorporated  under  charters  allowing  them 
to  'own  and  manage  land,  buildings,  and  other 
property;  for  the  extension  of  Christianity,  the 
carrying  on  of  Christian  education,  and  the  per- 
formance of  works  of  charity  and  benevolence.' 
It  should  be  added  also  that  they  are  incorpo- 
rated under  the  Article  in  the  Civil  Code  which 
provides  for  the  incorporation  of  associations 
founded  for  'purposes  beneficial  to  the  public'; 


26       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

and  as  'their  object  is  not  to  make  a  profit  out  of 
the  conduct  of  their  business,'  no  taxes  are  levied 
on  their  incomes.  The  number  of  those  profess- 
ing Christianity  is  a  large  one,  with  a  much 
larger  number  who  are  Christian  in  their  affilia- 
tions; and  the  Japanese  Christians  are  not  con- 
fined to  any  one  rank  or  class.  They  are  to  be 
found  among  the  members  of  the  national  Diet, 
the  judges  in  the  courts,  the  professors  in  the 
universities,  the  editors  of  leading  secular  papers, 
and  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy.  There- 
fore to  say  that  Japan  stands  for  religious  free- 
dom is  simply  to  say  what  is  patent  to  all;  and 
to  abandon  that  principle,  either  now  or  in  the 
future,  would  be  to  violate  the  Constitution,  and 
would  create  deep  dissatisfaction  throughout  all 
Japan.  What  then  becomes  of  the  argument  that 
Japan  stands  for  Buddhism? 

"But  sometimes  the  argument  against  Japan  is 
stated  in  this  way:  There  is  a  general  idea  that 
Japan  holds  in  common  with  the  West  the  great 
fundamental  elements  of  the  civilization  of  the 
West;  but  this  is  a  very  superficial  view  of  the 
case.  What  in  fact  Japan  has  done,  so  the  argu- 
ment runs,  has  been  to  adopt  certain  products  of 
the  civilization  of  the  West — the  railroad,  the 
telegraph,  the  post  office,  the  system  of  banking, 
the  battleship,  and  the  quick-firing  gun.  On  the 
other  hand,  of  those  elements  in  the  civilization  of 
the  West  which  the  West  regards  as  of  the  very 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  27 

highest  importance  Japan  really  knows  but  little, 
and  for  them  she  cares  still  less.  The  truth  is 
that,  underneath  all,  Japan  stands  for  what  may 
be  described  as  the  spirit  of  the  East  against  the 
spirit  of  the  West.  But  those  who  advance  this 
argument  overlook  things  which  cannot  be  over- 
looked. 

"Japan  is  an  old  country  with  a  history  which 
it  will  always  read  with  a  proper  pride;  for  the 
civilization  of  what  we  now  call  Old  Japan  was 
one  of  a  high  order,  and  comprised  elements 
which  New  Japan  has  no  desire  to  change.  For 
reasons,  which  however  need  not  now  be  given, 
during  a  long  course  of  years  Japan  thought  it 
wise  to  live  an  isolated  life.  Then  came  a  period 
in  her  history,  little  understood  by  most  for- 
eigners, when  great  internal  forces  were  actively 
at  work  bearing  Japan  on  to  a  new  era.  It  was 
during  that  period  that  Commodore  Perry  came 
to  Japan ;  and  no  doubt  his  coming,  and  the  man- 
ner of  it,  did  much  to  give  the  movement  direc- 
tion; but  it  was  not  his  coming  that  caused  the 
movement.  Then  came  the  Restoration;  and 
with  the  Restoration  of  the  Emperor,  the  new 
era,  the  Era  of  Meiji  (enlightenment)  ;  and  with 
the  Era  of  Meiji,  the  Great  Imperial  Pledge  that 
Japan  should  'seek  for  knowledge  throughout 
the  whole  world.'  Since  then  Japan  has  diligently 
sought  knowledge;  and  the  knowledge  that  she 
has  gained  she  has  made  her  own.    The  old  tree 


28       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

still  stands;  but  the  new  branches  have  been 
grafted  into  the  tree,  and  now  belong  to  the  tree 
just  as  truly  as  the  old  branches  which  remain. 
Nor  is  it  true  that  Japan  in  her  search  for  knowl- 
edge has  found  nothing  but  the  railroad,  the  tele- 
graph, and  the  battleship.  What  then  are  some 
of  the  elements  of  the  civilization  which  Japan 
now  holds,  and  will  hold,  in  common  with  the 
West? 

*'One  of  the  essential  elements  of  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  West  is  the  education  of  the  West ;  that 
Japan  has  accepted  with  all  her  heart.  Students 
in  Japan  are  taught  precisely  the  same  things  that 
students  in  Europe  and  America  are  taught, 
except  that  little  attention  is  paid  to  Latin  or 
Greek.  This  education  is  given  through  a  system 
beginning  with  the  kindergarten  and  extending 
to  highly  specialized  university  courses.  It  is 
only  for  particular  instruction  that  it  is  necessary 
for  a  student  to  go  abroad.  There  is  not  a  village 
in  the  empire  without  its  primary  school;  the 
towns  are  supplied  with  secondary  schools ;  at 
convenient  centers  there  are  high  schools  which 
may  be  compared  with  the  smaller  colleges  in  the 
United  States;  in  Tokyo  and  Kyoto  are  the  uni- 
versities; and  besides  these  there  are  many  tech- 
nical schools.  This  is  the  system  sustained  by 
the  government.  In  addition  to  the  government 
system  there  are  many  private  institutions;  some 
of  them  of  a  high  grade.     Every  child  in  Japan, 


THE  ENVIRONMENT  29 

unless  exempt  for  specified  reasons,  is  required 
to  complete  the  primary  school  course.  Educa- 
tion is  yeast;  and  the  education  of  Japan  is  the 
education  of  the  West. 

"Law,  and  the  administration  of  law,  and  in 
particular  the  rights  of  the  individual  under  law, 
constitute,  as  any  thoughtful  man  will  admit,  a 
dominant  element  in  the  civilization  of  the  West. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  Era  of  Meiji,  Japan 
has  entirely  remodeled  her  laws,  both  criminal 
and  civil.  This  was  done  after  a  most  painstaking 
study  of  the  laws  of  Europe  and  America,  with 
the  aid  of  foreign  experts ;  and  Japan  has  no  rea- 
son to  be  ashamed  either  of  her  laws  or  of  the 
administration  of  them,  even  when  judged  by  the 
standards  of  the  West.  Japan  also  accepts  her 
place  among  the  nations  of  the  West  as  bound 
by  the  principles  of  International  law  both  in 
peace  and  in  war. 

"But  to  mention  only  one  thing  more.  Per- 
haps there  is  nothing  more  peculiarly  character- 
istic of  the  civilization  of  the  West  than  govern- 
ment under  a  Constitution.  Japan  has  a  Consti- 
tution which  provides  for  an  Upper  and  a  Lower 
House,  through  which  the  will  of  the  people  finds 
expression.  In  one  particular  also  the  Constitu- 
tion of  Japan  has  in  the  eyes  of  Japan  a  peculiar 
glory.  It  was  not,  as  has  been  the  case  in  many 
countries,  the  fruit  of  a  long  struggle  between  the 
nation  and  the  throne.     It  was  the  gift  of  the 


30       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

emperor,  freely  given,  gratefully  received;  a 
sacred  treasure  which  both  alike  will  guard  with 
care. 

"It  is  sometimes  said  that  Japan  stands  eagerly 
waiting  to  take  the  leadership  of  the  East;  and 
that  if  she  does  so,  it  will  be  in  the  spirit  of  the 
East  against  the  West.  Whether  or  not  it  is  the 
destiny  of  Japan  to  be  the  leader  of  the  East  re- 
mains to  be  unfolded.  But  if  ever  that  responsi- 
bility shall  be  hers,  of  one  thing  the  world  may  be 
sure:  She  will  not  willingly  retrace  her  own 
steps ;  and  she  will  at  least  endeavor  to  persuade 
the  East  to  do  what  she  herself  has  done,  and 
what  she  is  trying  to  do  more  perfectly. 

"It  is  in  this  nation — the  Old  and  New  Japan 
— and  at  this  era  in  its  history  that  we  are  called 
to  lend  our  aid  in  establishing  the  Church  of 
Christ." 


Lecture  Two 

A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW 


LECTURE  II 

A  Bird's-eye  View 

I  suppose  that  many,  if  asked  the  question. 
What  is  the  object  of  foreign  missions?  would 
say,  "The  evangelization  of  the  world."  With 
that  reply  I  quite  agree,  if  by  it  be  meant  the 
more  remote  rather  than  the  immediate  object. 
For  the  evangelization  of  the  world,  in  whatever 
proper  sense  the  phrase  be  used — whether  it  be 
the  complete  fulfillment  of  what  we  pray  for  when 
we  say,  "Thy  kingdom  come ;"  or  whether  it  be  in 
a  broader  sense  the  Christianization  of  the  world ; 
or  whether  it  be  such  a  preaching  of  the  gospel 
as  shall  enable  all  men  intelligently  to  accept  or 
to  reject  Christ — the  evangelization  of  the  world 
is  a  vast  undertaking.  We  are  to  disciple  the 
nations ;  to  baptize  the  nations ;  to  teach  the 
nations  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  Christ 
commanded.  Furthermore,  except  in  its  begin- 
nings, it  must  be  done  in  every  nation  by  the  men 
of  that  nation.  No,  it  is  not  so  easy  a  thing  to 
evangelize  the  world  as  some  would  have  us 
think;  and  those  who  think  it  easy  have  yet  to 
learn  that  it  takes  not  only  toil  but  time.  It  is  not 
an  act,  but  a  process ;  and  in  that  process  time  is 
itself  an  essential  element. 

33 


34       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

The  direct  and  immediate  object  of  foreign 
missions  is,  and  should  always  be  presented  as, 
the  founding  and  establishment  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  within  the  nations  where  Christ  is  not 
generally  known.  That  is  the  method  of  God  in 
history;  and  it  accords  with  the  teaching  of  the 
apostle  who  said  that  the  pillar  and  ground  of 
the  truth  is  the  church  of  the  living  God.  That 
too  is  the  true  means  to  the  ultimate  end ;  it  can 
be  accomplished  within  a  reasonable  time;  and 
its  cordial  acceptance  will  prevent  much  disap- 
pointment. You  will  understand  then  why  I  have 
taken  for  my  subject,  'The  Founding  and  Estab- 
lishment of  the  Church  in  Japan." 

A  course  of  lectures  telling  the  story  of  the 
entire  Christian  movement  in  Japan,  if  the  story 
were  rightly  told,  would  be  one  full  of  interest. 
That  however  I  cannot  attempt.  I  must  confine 
myself  almost  exclusively  to  the  church  with 
which  we  ourselves  are  connected ;  and  which  for 
historical  reasons  bears  the  name,  The  Church  of 
Christ  in  Japan. 

For  ten  years  or  more,  the  first  missionaries — 
Dr.  Hepburn  and  the  others — could  do  little  or 
nothing  toward  the  founding  of  the  church. 
They  could  hardly  persuade  men  to  serve  them  as 
teachers  of  the  language.  One  of  these  teachers, 
now  long  a  minister  of  Christ,  tells  how  he  once 
carried  concealed  a  short  sword  ready  for  defense 
against   the   missionaries.    But   the   missionaries 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  35 

went  on  patiently  picking  out  the  language  and 
teaching  the  young  men  and  boys  who  came  to 
them.  For  already  young  Japan  was  eager  to 
learn  the  learning  of  the  West ;  and  the  mission- 
ary was  then  his  best  teacher.  So  things  went 
on  for  a  number  of  years.  But  at  last  the  Day  of 
Pentecost  was  fully  come.  Why  it  came  just 
when  it  did,  no  one  could  tell  then  and  no  one 
can  tell  now.  Suddenly  there  was  the  sound  as 
of  a  mighty  rushing  wind ;  and  it  filled  the  house. 
Christianity  was  still  a  crime  punishable  with 
imprisonment  or  death;  and  it  was  still  doubtful 
whether  the  law  would  not  be  enforced.  But  an 
invitation  was  issued,  and  a  company  of  young 
men  and  boys,  drawn  by  an  unseen  power,  assem- 
bled together.  Many  years  afterwards,  one  of 
them  telling  the  story  told  how  each  one  was  sur- 
prised to  find  the  others  present.  That  was  the 
turning  point  in  their  lives.  They  had  already 
heard  of  Christ  and  Christianity  from  their  teach- 
ers; but  then  they  became  Christians,  and  for 
days  they  were  filled  with  a  new  joy.  They  could 
not  express  themselves.  At  that  time  there  was 
only  a  meager  collection  of  hymns;  and  all  of 
them  translations  over  which  they  now  smile  with 
a  kindly  smile.  But  that  made  no  matter.  Late 
into  the  night  they  came  together  and  sang.  The 
particular  hymn  which  they  sang  over  and  over 
again  was  the  one  beginning,  "Jesus  loves  me,  this 
I  know."  That  too,  or  a  little  later,  was  the  time 


36       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

when  a  naval  officer  wrote  of  his  feeHngs  at  see- 
ing *'these  Japanese  pray." 

Shortly  afterwards,  on  March  lo,  1872,  there 
was  organized  in  the  city  of  Yokohama,  a  church 
— the  first  Protestant  Church  in  the  empire.  It 
framed  a  simple  Confession  of  Faith,  and  called 
itself  the  Church  of  Christ.  That  little  group  of 
believers  has  now  grown  to  be  a  synod  with  six 
presbyteries  extending  from  one  end  of  Japan  to 
the  other.  There  are  about  seventy-five  churches 
and  more  than  a  hundred  congregations  not  yet 
fully  organized  as  churches.  There  are  some 
eighty  ministers,  and  about  thirteen  thousand 
communicants.  The  annual  contributions  amount 
to  about  twenty  thousand  dollars.  This  is  the 
church  with  which  we  and  all  the  other  Presby- 
terian and  Reformed  Missions  in  Japan  cooperate. 
It  is  a  Japanese  Church  ecclesiastically  indepen- 
dent of  all  foreign  churches ;  and  while  it  belongs 
to  the  Alliance  of  Presbyterian  and  Reformed 
churches,  as  I  have  said,  it  bears  the  name,  to 
which  it  clings  with  old  and  deep  affection,  "The 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan." 

Some  six  months  after  the  organization  of  this 
church,  a  convention  of  missionaries,  for  the  most 
part  Presbyterian  Reformed,  and  Congregational, 
met  in  Yokohama.  The  primary  object  of  the 
convention  was  to  arrange  for  the  translation  of 
the  Scriptures ;  but  passing  events  filled  the  minds 
of  all   with   the   thought   of   the   founding   and 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  37 

organization  of  the  church,  and  a  resokition  was 
adopted  of  which  the  following  was  the  conclu- 
sion :  "We  therefore  agree  that  we  will  use  our 
influence  to  secure,  as  far  as  possible,  identity  of 
name  and  organization  of  the  churches  in  the  for- 
mation of  which  we  may  be  called  to  assist;  that 
name  being  as  catholic  as  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  the  organization  being  that  wherein  the  gov- 
ernment of  each  church  shall  be  by  the  ministry 
and  eldership  of  the  same,  with  the  concurrence 
of  the  brethren." 

For  a  short  time  all  worked  well  and  promised 
fair;  but  before  long  it  became  evident  that  the 
resolution  had  not  been  explicit  enough  to  prevent 
wide  differences  of  interpretation,  and  the  result 
was  as  follows :  The  missionaries  of  the  Reformed 
Church  were  all  cooperating  with  the  Church  of 
Christ.  Our  own  mission  was  divided ;  a  part  co- 
operated with  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  a  part 
with  a  presbytery  organized  in  connection  with 
our  General  Assembly.  Meanwhile  the  Congre- 
gational missionaries  had  begun  to  organize  Con- 
gregational churches.  It  was  a  cloudy  sky  after 
a  bright  sunrise. 

But  the  gloom  was  not  to  last.  The  action  of 
the  Congregational  missionaries  opened  the  way 
for  the  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  missionaries 
to  follow  suit.  Accordingly,  in  May  1876,  the 
Presbyterian  Mission  addressed  the  Reformed 
Mission  as  follows:  "We  have  long  entertained 


38       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  lAPAN 

the  hope  that  a  plan  might  be  devised  by  which 
our  respective  missions  should  become  fellow- 
v^orkers  in  a  common  presbytery,  not  connected 
ecclesiastically  with  any  foreign  body,  and  which 
would  receive  the  warm  approval  of  the  churches 
which  we  represent." 

To  this  letter  the  mission  of  the  Reformed 
Church  responded  most  cordially.  A  meeting 
was  held  and  an  invitation  addressed  to  the  mis- 
sion of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scot- 
land, which  had  reached  Japan  only  a  short  time 
before.  This  invitation  was  accepted,  and  the 
three  missions  organized  as  a  body  which  has 
long  borne  the  name  of  the  Council  of  Missions 
cooperating  with  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan. 
Then  followed  conferences  with  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  the  presbytery  organized  in  connec- 
tion with  our  own  General  Assembly ;  and  at  last, 
after  long  deliberation,  everything  was  arranged, 
standards  of  government,  doctrine,  and  discipline 
were  agreed  to;  and  on  October  3,  1877,  in 
the  Kaigan  Church  in  Yokohama — the  build- 
ing occupied  by  the  mother  congregation  of 
the  Church  of  Christ — the  new  church  was  or- 
ganized. For  a  time  it  bore  the  title,  The  United 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan;  but  later  the  word 
united  was  dropped,  and  the  original  title  re- 
sumed. Ten  or  more  years  subsequently  the 
Council  was  joined  by  the  missions  of  the  South- 
em  Presbyterian,  the  German  Reformed,  and  the 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  39 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  churches.  The  union 
thus  accompHshed  has  now  been  in  existence  and 
working  for  nearly  thirty  years ;  and  it  may  fairly 
be  said  that  its  benefits  have  far  outweighed  any 
disadvantages.  I  know  of  only  two  or  three  mis- 
sionaries who  would  willingly  give  it  up ;  and  they 
are  extremists. 

It  has  tended  to  greater  efficiency  in  the  distri- 
bution and  employment  of  the  various  forces 
available.  In  a  marked  degree  it  has  proved  of 
value  in  the  location  of  new  missions.  Take  the 
case  of  the  Southern  Presbyterians.  Under  other 
circumstances  they  would  have  entered  upon  their 
work  with  all  the  disadvantages  necessarily  at- 
tending newcomers.  What  did  happen  was  this : 
The  Council  said:  ''Here  are  two  pieces  of  work 
already  begun.  You  may  take  your  choice."  That 
gave  them  at  once,  with  all  the  influence  of 
the  Council  and  the  Church  to  favor  them,  the 
most  promising  field  in  all  Japan.  The  vineyard 
was  given  laborers,  and  the  laborers  were  given 
a  fertile  vineyard.  Essentially  the  same  may  be 
said  as  to  the  mission  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church  also. 

But  if  the  union  has  proved  of  value  as  regards 
the  missionary  and  the  mission,  its  value  to  the 
Japanese  Church  has  been  still  greater.  Without 
it,  there  would  have  been  six  missions  and  six 
churches — six  little  churches.  Now  there  is  one 
church,  with  all  the  inspiration,  all  the  variety  in 


4o       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

unity,  and  all  the  practical  advantages  that  belong 
to  such  a  body.  Think  also  of  the  future,  and 
how  such  a  union  will  tend  to  prevent  the  un- 
necessary multiplication  of  churches  that  would 
otherwise  have  been  inevitable.  Finally,  may  it 
not  be  said  that  such  a  union  accords  with  the 
spirit  of  Christianity  ?  Doubtless  times  may  come 
when  there  must  be  division;  but  can  any  one 
think  that  divisions  in  the  church  in  themselves 
are  other  than  evil  ?  Especially  too  is  it  true  that 
in  a  land  where  Christianity  is  knocking  for 
entrance,  so  far  as  possible  the  Church  of  Christ 
should  be  not  only  one  in  Christ,  but  also  one 
before  the  world. 

As  there  are  movements  in  the  same  direction 
in  other  mission  fields  also,  and  as  some  of  you 
may  be  called  to  take  part  in  them,  it  may  be 
worth  while  for  me  to  refer  to  certain  of  the  ele- 
ments that  contributed  to  the  measure  of  suc- 
cess attained  in  Japan. 

First  and  foremost  the  time  for  it  had  come.  In 
various  ways  God  had  been  preparing  for  it.  I 
see  that  now  more  clearly  than  I  did  at  the  time. 
I  am  not  quite  sure  that  such  a  union  could  be 
brought  about  to-day.  In  spite  of  doubts,  and 
fears,  and  difficulties,  which  some  at  home  pre- 
dicted, there  was  present  a  spirit  of  courage  that 
was  willing  to  face  the  future  and  meet  the  prob- 
lems of  the  future  when  they  came.  In  all  the 
preliminary  conferences,  and  during  all  the  early 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  4i 

years,  careful  attention  was  paid  to  all  details; 
and  everything  likely  to  occur  was  talked  over 
and  out  in  sincerity  and  truth.  It  was  perfectly 
clear  that  such  a  union  would  at  times  involve  the 
sacrifice  of  mission  interests;  but  it  was  also 
equally  clear  that  if  ever  the  interests  of  a  mis- 
sion and  the  interests  of  the  church  should  seem 
to  be  at  variance,  the  interests  of  the  church 
should  have  the  first  place.  And  finally  there 
was  an  element,  seldom  thought  of  at  the  time 
and  known  to  few  outsiders  now,  but  one  of  first 
importance.  Some  of  the  men  were  older  and 
some  younger,  but  they  were  all  in  sympathy ;  and 
among  them  was  a  group  of  warm  personal 
friends.  It  was  in  a  marked  degree  a  company 
of  Christian  friends  moved  by  a  common  purpose. 
Some  of  them  are  still  in  Japan  and  some  in 
America,  one  is  in  Scotland  and  one  in  Australia ; 
and  three  have  gone  to  a  better  country.  They 
will  never  meet  again  until  they  meet  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Christ;  but  they  will  never  forget  one 
another,  and  they  will  never  forget  the  days 
when  they  formed  the  Council  of  Missions  co- 
operating with  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan. 

The  advance  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan 
during  the  first  fifteen  years  of  its  history  will 
always  be  memorable  in  the  annals  of  modern 
missions;  and  the  lessons  which  that  history 
teaches  may  be  highly  profitable  for  instruction 
in  other  mission  fields  also. 


42       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

The  interest  in  Christianity,  or  at  least  the 
curiosity  regarding  it,  was  widespread.  Invita- 
tions to  preach  in  cities  and  towns  were  so  com- 
mon that  they  ceased  to  cause  surprise.  It  was 
an  easy  thing  to  gather  in  a  hall  or  theater  an 
audience  of  four  or  five  hundred  men  and  women, 
who  for  a  whole  afternoon  would  listen  to  speaker 
after  speaker.  The  congregations  in  the  churches 
would  sometimes  assemble  for  a  morning  service, 
and  then  remain  until  the  afternoon  service 
engaged  in  Christian  conversation.  Men  went 
out  to  do  the  work  of  evangelists  full  of  enthu- 
siasm and  followed  by  the  prayers  of  the  congre- 
gations. In  every  three  years  the  membership  of 
the  church  doubled;  and  had  things  gone  on,  as 
they  went  on  for  ten  years,  the  membership 
would  now  have  numbered  a  hundred  thousand. 
The  congregations  were  growing  so  fast  and  were 
paying  their  pastors  such  salaries  that  the  prob- 
lem of  self-support  was  rapidly  solving  itself.  The 
condition  of  affairs  was  so  promising  that  the 
Council  of  Missions  prepared  a  statement  narrat- 
ing the  facts,  and  asking  the  Boards  of  Foreign 
Missions  to  make  "special  effort  for  Japan  a  part 
of  their  general  policy."  From  that  statement  I 
quote  a  single  paragraph.  "A  century  ago  there 
was  heard  once  more  a  divine  Voice,  saying,  *Go, 
teach  all  nations ;'  and  men  asked,  Where  can  we 
go  ?'  To-day  a  man  stands  on  the  shores  of  Japan 
crying,  'Come  over  into  Asia  and  help  us.'  And  we 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  43 

must  go  now.  There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of 
nations  as  well  as  of  men.  There  is  a  time  to 
reap ;  and  it  is  into  the  harvest  fields  white  for  the 
harvest  that  our  Lord  bids  us  to  pray  that  labor- 
ers be  sent.  Other  nations  may  wait;  but  this 
nation  cannot  wait.  For  he  is  not  dealing  so  with 
any  other  nation."  The  common  watchword  was, 
Christ  for  Japan,  and  Japan  for  Christ.  And 
Christianity  seemed  to  have  within  itself  the 
power  of  self-propagation. 

Then  came  a  change;  at  first  gradually  and 
then  more  and  more  rapidly;  the  change  that  is 
known  in  Japan  as  the  Great  Reaction.  The  gen- 
eral interest  in  Christianity  gave  way  to  indiffer- 
ence and  overt  hostility.  The  number  of  the 
lapsed  in  the  churches  was  so  great  that  the  con- 
gregations not  only  failed  to  grow  but  even  to 
hold  their  own.  Churches  that  had  been  self-sup- 
porting ceased  to  be  self-supporting.  The  enthu- 
siasm for  the  evangelization  of  Japan  that  had 
burned  so  bright  began  to  burn  low.  As  things 
went  on,  the  relations  between  some  of  the  mis- 
sionaries and  some  of  the  Japanese  were  becom- 
ing strained.  It  was  a  time  of  criticism;  and  on 
both  sides,  on  the  part  of  some,  there  was  an 
inclination  to  draw  apart.  Young  men  from 
America,  who  had  heard  a  tale  of  wonderful  suc- 
cess, and  had  come  to  Japan  to  take  part  in  a 
great  Christian  movement,  found  themselves 
standing  idle  in  the  market  place  with  no  one  to 


44       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

call  them ;  and  some  of  them  began  to  ask  whether 
they,  had  not  been  deceived.  It  was  a  hard  expe- 
rience for  them.  During  the  years  of  the  advance, 
the  question  was  sometimes  asked  regarding  mis- 
sion fields  where  things  seemed  to  be  at  a  stand- 
still, Can  it  be  that  the  missionaries  there  are  not 
using  the  right  methods?  When  the  reaction 
came  the  question  was  asked  by  some,  Have  not 
we  ourselves  been  using  the  wrong  methods? 
But  the  one  question  was  as  superficial  as  the 
other.  God  was  in  the  advance,  and  God  was  in 
the  reaction. 

That  was  the  reaction.  What  was  the  cause  of 
it?  The  fundamental  cause  was  this:  The  na- 
tional movement  toward  the  civilization  of  the 
West  was  running  a  strong  flood  tide ;  and  Chris- 
tianity was  recognized  as  one  of  the  elements  of 
that  civilization.  Many  therefore  accepted  it; 
but  in  the  case  of  many  the  acceptance  was  only 
superficial,  and  with  little  or  no  personal  expe- 
rience of  its  transforming  power.  Therefore  when 
the  birds  of  the  air  came  they  carried  away  the 
good  seed ;  when  the  sun  grew  hot  the  stalks  with- 
ered; when  the  thorns  sprang  up  the  wheat  was 
choked.  And  the  birds  of  the  air  did  come;  the 
sun  did  grow  hot;  and  the  thorns  did  spring  up. 

The  national  Constitution  was  proclaimed  and 
the  national  Diet  established ;  and  the  minds  of 
men  were  filled  with  new  thoughts.  The  daily 
newspaper  was  a  rival  with  which  the  Gospels 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  4$ 

could  no  longer  successfully  compete.  The  en- 
grossing talk  and  interest  of  the  day  was  of 
necessity  political.  Think  what  would  happen  in 
America  to-day  if  a  radical  change  in  the  consti- 
tution of  the  Government  should  be  made.  The 
result  was  inevitable.  There  was  no  more  room 
for  Christ  in  the  inn.  Then  suddenly  there  sprang 
up  an  anti-foreign  spirit.  A  new  attempt  at 
treaty  revision  had  failed;  and  the  nation  was 
irritated.  Foreign  customs,  foreign  ideals,  for- 
eign thought;  were  no  more  to  the  mind  of  the 
people  as  they  had  been;  and  Christianity,  as 
something  foreign,  could  not  possibly  escape  the 
influence.  The  cry  was  raised  that  the  spirit  of 
Christianity  and  the  spirit  of  Japan  were  antago- 
nistic; that  Christ  was  a  rival  of  the  emperor. 
In  the  early  days  of  the  church  the  test  of  loyalty 
was  the  burning  of  incense  before  the  image  of 
Csesar.  In  Japan  an  attempt  was  made  in  some  of 
the  schools  to  make  the  test  of  loyalty  a  bowing 
before  the  picture  of  the  emperor;  but  it  was 
not  quite  clear  whether  the  bowing  was  simply  an 
expression  of  the  loyalty  rightly  due  or  something 
deeper.  To  all  this  must  be  added  the  incoming 
of  a  highly  rationalistic  type  of  Christianity.  It 
is  true  that  but  few  of  its  representatives  were 
found  among  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  Japan;  but  it  was  in  the  air;  it  was 
breathed;  and  the  effect  was  benumbing. 

So  the  reaction  came.    Nevertheless  those  first 


46       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

fifteen  years  were  wonderful  years ;  and  they  will 
always  hold  a  place  of  their  own  in  the  history  of 
the  church.  There  was  much  chaf¥  with  the 
wheat;  but  there  was  much  wheat  also.  There 
were  many  men  and  women  who  accepted  Christ 
sincerely  and  have  served  him  faithfully.  Most 
of  the  leaders  in  the  church  now  entered  it  then ; 
and  the  whole  church  to-day  is  the  outgrowth  of 
those  early  years. 

The  majority  of  the  members  of  the  church 
to-day,  as  has  been  the  case  from  the  beginning, 
come  from  neither  the  highest  nor  the  lowest 
ranks  in  life.  It  is  often  said  that  they  belong  to 
the  middle  class;  but  it  would  be  more  accurate 
to  say,  to  the  lower  middle  class.  At  the  same 
time  it  is  also  true  that  there  are  in  the  church 
men  of  position  and  standing  in  the  community. 
What  the  Prime  Minister  recently  said  is  per- 
fectly correct:  ''The  Japanese  Christians  are  not 
confined  to  any  one  rank  or  class.  They  are  to 
be  found  among  the  members  of  the  national  Diet, 
the  judges  in  the  courts,  the  professors  in  the  uni- 
versities, the  editors  of  leading  secular  papers, 
and  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy." 

As  to  Christian  experience,  in  the  case  of  most, 
nothing  beyond  the  ordinary  should  be  expected ; 
and  nothing  beyond  that  is  to  be  found.  In  some 
apparently  perfectly  commonplace  way  the  major- 
ity of  those  who  seek  admission  to  the  church 
have   come   within   the   sphere   of   Christian   in- 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  4; 

fluence  and  have  been  taught  Christianity.  Some 
of  them  know  its  essential  truths  very  accurately ; 
and  some  of  them  very  imperfectly.  They 
acknowledge  that  they  need  forgiveness,  and  that 
they  look  for  forgiveness  through  Christ;  but  it 
is  quite  evident  that  they  have  no  deep  conscious- 
ness of  sin.  That  may  seem  somewhat  strange  to 
you.  You  may  think  that  the  new  light  would 
almost  certainly  make  the  shadows  of  the  past 
very  dark ;  but  it  is  not  so,  and  it  is  not  strange. 
The  case  of  the  Japanese  and  the  case  of  Paul  are 
very  different.  Paul  was  heir  to  centuries  of 
the  discipline  of  the  law ;  while  hitherto  there  has 
been  in  Japanese  no  word  for  sin.  Christian  the- 
ology has  been  obliged  to  take  the  word  for 
crime,  and  read  into  it  the  thought  of  sin,  i.  e., 
sin  against  God.  What  the  Psalmist  meant  when 
he  said,  ''Against  thee  have  I  sinned,"  is  some- 
thing new  to  the  Japanese.  But  the  applicants  for 
admission  to  the  church  desire  to  confess  Christ 
before  men.  They  say  they  wish  to  live  a  Christian 
life ;  and  they  pledge  themselves,  as  they  shall  be 
enabled,  to  do  their  Christian  duties.  From  week 
to  week  they  join  in  the  worship  of  the  congrega- 
tion. They  have  Christian  friends  most  of  whom 
live  on  much  the  same  plane  as  themselves,  with 
here  and  there  one  who  lives  on  a  higher  plane, 
and  whose  walk  and  conversation  are  an  inspira- 
tion. They  are  beset  with  temptations ;  and  it  is 
very  hard  for  them  to  keep  from  falling.     Often 


48       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

they  do  fall ;  sometimes  never  to  rise  again.  Time 
and  time  again  there  would  be  no  hope  for  them 
but  for  the  words,  "Neither  do  I  condemn  thee: 
go,  and  sin  no  more."  They  tread  slowly  and  fal- 
teringly  the  same  pathway  trodden  by  myriads 
out  of  every  nation  and  tongue  on  their  way  to 
the  Celestial  City;  only  for  them  the  pathway  is 
often  very  rough,  very  thorny,  and  very  slippery. 
That  I  think  is  a  correct  description  of  the  re- 
ligious experience  of  most  of  the  Japanese  Chris- 
tians. But  there  are  also  among  them  men  and 
women  of  deeper  Christian  knowledge  and  richer 
Christian  experience,  Christians  who  are  an  honor 
to  the  Christian  name.  I  could  speak  of  the  liv- 
ing ;  but  it  will  be  better  to  speak  only  of  the  dead ; 
and  of  these  I  select  two  who  were  known  of  all 
as  lights  in  the  world.  Kataoka  was  one  of  the 
first  fruits  of  Tosa  and  an  elder  in  the  church. 
Imprisoned  for  a  political  offense,  he  spent  his 
year  in  prison  in  reading  the  New  Testament,  in 
meditation,  and  in  prayer;  and  there,  he  said, 
learned  Christianity  as  he  never  had  known  it 
before.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  before,  he  was  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Lower  House  of  the  national  Diet. 
Once  when  some  of  his  friends  advised  him 
to  resign  his  eldership,  in  fear  that  it  might 
prevent  his  first  election  to  the  Diet,  he  said, 
*Tf  I  must  choose  between  the  two,  I  would 
rather  remain  an  elder  in  the  church."     From 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  Ag 

time  to  time  it  was  his  custom  to  open  his 
official  residence  in  Tokyo  for  Christian  services 
to  which  he  invited  men  of  influence.  He  was 
also  president  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of 
the  church  and  deeply  interested  in  its  work.  As 
he  lay  dying,  with  wife  and  children  and  grand- 
children gathered  about  him,  he  asked  them  to 
sing  his  favorite  hymn,  ''Jesus,  thy  love,  it  cheers 
my  heart."  Shortly  before  the  end  there  was 
brought  to  him  from  the  emperor  the  Decoration 
of  the  Rising  Sun ;  and,  as  the  funeral  procession 
passed  from  the  house  to  the  grave  on  the  hillside 
overlooking  the  city  and  harbor,  the  streets  were 
Hned  with  his  fellow-citizens  in  silence  and  respect. 
For  twenty  years  his  life  was  a  constant  witness 
for  Christ,  and  his  memory  is  a  precious  legacy. 

Admiral  Serata  was  a  graduate  of  our  Naval 
Academy  at  Annapolis;  and  on  his  return  to 
Japan,  promotion  followed  promotion,  and  honor 
honor  in  rapid  succession.  During  the  war  with 
China  he  greatly  distinguished  himself,  especially 
in  the  convoy  of  transports  and  the  capture  of 
Weihai-wei.  Twice  he  was  assigned  to  service  on 
the  general  staff  of  the  Navy.  During  his  career 
he  received  three  different  Orders  of  Merit;  and 
also  two  decorations,  that  of  the  Rising  Sun  and 
that  of  the  Golden  Hawk,  the  latter  one  greatly 
coveted  and  awarded  only  for  notable  services  in 
war.  Had  he  lived,  he  would  no  doubt  have  been 
given  high  command  in  the  recent  great  conflict. 


50       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

Serata  was  a  Christian  boy  when  he  went  to 
America,  and  a  member  of  the  church.  When  he 
-returned,  he  was  a  Christian  young  man ;  and  his 
interest  in  Christianity  and  the  church  continued 
undiminished.  His  duties  as  a  naval  officer  fre- 
quently called  him  away  from  home;  but  when- 
ever he  could  he  taught  a  class  of  Christians  con- 
nected with  the  congregation  in  which  he  and  his 
wife  were  deeply  interested.  He  also  had  a  class 
of  young  men  who  came  to  his  house  on  Satur- 
day afternoons,  and  a  number  of  them  under  his 
guidance  became  Christians.  Like  Kataoka  he 
too  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions; and  he  willingly  gave  his  time  and  best 
thought  to  its  work. 

As  to  many  thoughtful  men,  and  to  none  more 
so  than  to  thoughtful  Japanese,  a  time  came  when 
he  found  it  hard  to  hold  fast  to  some  of  the  essen- 
tial truths  of  Christianity.  Particularly  was  this 
so  with  regard  to  the  Incarnation.  But  he  gave 
himself  quietly  and  patiently  to  a  careful  study 
of  the  question ;  and  there  were  few  in  Japan  bet- 
ter acquainted  than  he  with  Christian  thought  on 
the  subject.  It  may  interest  you  to  know  that 
one  of  the  books  which  he  carried  with  him  on  his 
ship,  during  the  war  with  China,  was  Canon 
Gore's  work  on  the  Incarnation.  Not  long  before 
his  death  he  told  his  pastor  that  his  doubts  were 
all  gone ;  and  just  before  he  left  home  for  the  last 
time  he  told  him  that  he  had  come  to  feel  that  the 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  $1 

truth  which  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan  needs 
now  to  grasp,  as  it  has  not  yet  grasped  it,  is  Paul's 
teaching  of  justification  in  Christ. 

The  burial  of  a  naval  officer  of  high  rank  is  a 
scene  that  never  loses  its  impressiveness :  The 
brilliant  uniforms,  the  bronzed  faces  of  the  sail- 
ors, the  martial  music,  the  gun-carriage  covered 
with  the  pall,  the  sound  of  the  guns  fired  slowly 
one  by  one,  and,  penetrating  all,  the  thought  that 
sooner  or  later  for  every  one  the  hour  comes  at 
last  when  death  reigns.  That  was  the  scene  when 
Admiral  Serata  was  laid  to  rest. 

At  the  service  at  the  house,  Admiral  Uryu,  a 
classmate  at  Annapolis  and  life-long  friend,  read 
a  short  sketch  of  Serata's  life.  The  pastor  spoke 
of  him  as  a  man,  a  student,  and  a  Christian. 
"Counted  by  years,"  he  said,  "his  life  had  been 
comparatively  short,  but  looked  at  in  the  light  of 
experience  it  had  been  a  long  one;  for  he  had 
seen  much  of  men  and  of  things,  both  in  peace 
and  in  war.  But  it  was  not  this  that  most  of  all 
had  molded  him.  That  which  most  of  all  had 
made  him  what  he  was,  was  his  life  in  Christ." 

The  service  at  the  grave  was  very  simple.  Only 
a  prayer  following  the  reading  of  a  part  of  the 
chapter  in  Corinthians.  Very  simple  indeed  it 
seemed  in  the  light  of  the  setting  sun  shining  on 
all  the  pageantry  of  arms.  Very  simple,  but  very 
grand  also  the  words  sounded  over  the  grave  of 
the  Admiral :  "Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory." 


52       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

In  the  sketch  of  his  life  read  by  Admiral  Uryu, 
he  was  described  as  "calm  and  brave;  gentle  and 
dignified  in  manner;  easy  of  approach  and  kind 
to  all ;  and  his  death  a  great  loss  to  his  country." 
He  was  a  man  of  refined  literary  tastes,  well  read 
in  history,  political  science,  and  theology.  He 
loved  his  home,  his  wife,  and  his  children.  That 
is  how  he  is  remembered  by  those  who  knew  him 
most  intimately.  In  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
Japan  he  is  remembered  as  a  centurion  who  feared 
God  with  all  his  house,  who  prayed  to  God 
always,  and  who  was  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ. 

The  majority  of  the  ministers  of  the  church, 
as  is  so  in  every  church,  are  good  men  doing  a 
good  work,  though  without  exceptional  natural 
gifts  or  acquirements.  But  as  in  other  churches, 
there  is  also  another  class;  men  of  more  than 
common  gifts  and  acquirements,  and  more  than 
common  force.  A  number  of  them  are  well  read 
in  theology  and  other  studies;  some  of  them  ex- 
ceedingly well  read.  To  one  who  knows  them, 
who  meets  them  in  conversation  or  counsel,  or 
in  the  meetings  of  synod,  they  are  men  who  can- 
not but  command  respect. 

Theologically  their  position  is  precisely  what 
might  be  expected.  The  new  era  in  the  national 
life  began  with  the  Imperial  Pledge  that  Japan 
should  seek  for  knowledge  through  all  the  world. 
The  attitude  of  the  whole  nation  is  therefore  pecu- 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  53 

liarly  one  of  inquiry;  and  this  is  the  attitude  of 
the  more  influential  minds  among  the  ministers 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan.  They  hold  it 
for  truth  that  we  know  only  in  part ;  that  all  coun- 
cils may  err  and  that  many  have  erred.  They  are 
therefore  not  unwilling  to  discern  the  signs  of 
the  times.  Nevertheless  they  stand,  and  they  are 
recognized  as  standing  unflinchingly  for  the  es- 
sential truths  of  historical  Christianity. 

The  work  of  the  Japanese  minister  is  essen- 
tially that  of  the  minister  in  any  land,  saving  that 
he  must  learn  to  find  in  the  gospel  of  Christ  an 
answer  to  the  particular  problems  of  Japanese 
life,  with  its  own  joys  and  sorrows,  hopes  and 
fears,  customs  and  ideals.  His  position  is  often 
a  trying  one.  It  is  hard,  often  very  hard,  for  him 
to  make  both  ends  meet.  As  a  teacher  of  religion, 
he  sometimes  knows  what  it  is  not  to  hold  the 
place  in  society  that  would  otherwise  be  accorded 
him.  The  congregations  are  often  hard  to  guide 
and  not  easy  to  please ;  and  frequently  there  is  in 
them  much  fertile  soil  in  which  to  sow  the  seeds 
of  gossip  and  faction.  In  the  large  cities,  espe- 
cially in  Tokyo,  there  is  a  special  difficulty.  The 
preaching  that  once  satisfied  satisfies  no  longer. 
This  indicates,  on  the  part  of  the  congregations, 
a  growing  familiarity  with  the  things  commonly 
known  among  us ;  but  it  also  adds  to  the  burdens 
of  the  pastor.  Country  pastors,  too,  and  evangel- 
ists have  their  own  trials.     Yes,  there  are  many 


54       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

shepherds  over  the  flock  of  Christ  in  Japan,  who, 
when  the  Chief  Shepherd  shall  appear,  shall  re- 
ceive the  crown  of  glory. 

And  now  as  to  the  present  general  outlook  from 
the  Christian  point  of  view  and  the  thing  to  be 
done  now. 

The  evangelization  of  Japan  is  not  to  be  accom- 
plished by  a  charge  of  cavalry.     The  optimism 
that  thinks  otherwise  is  the  optimism  of  a  zeal 
without  knowledge.     The  right  figure  to  employ 
is  that  of  a  siege.    This  fact  is  now  fully  recog- 
nized by  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan.    That  in 
itself  is  a  sign  of  promise.    The  anti-foreign  mood 
which  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  reaction  has 
now  passed  away.    It  passed  away  with  the  revi- 
sion of  the  treaties.     Especially  as  regards  Eng- 
land, her  ally,  and  America,  her  old  friend,  the 
national  feeling  is  most  cordial.  As  those  nations 
are  both   recognized  as   Christian   nations,  that 
feeling  cannot  but  open  the  way  to  a  more  and 
more  friendly  hearing  for  Christianity.     Ideas, 
principles,  movements.  Christian  in  their  origin, 
and  a  general  knowledge  of  Christianity  itself, 
are  now  gradually  extending  through  the  empire ; 
and  there  is  a  growing  confidence  in  the  minds 
of  many  observers  that  there   is  an   increasing 
open-mindedness  toward  Christianity  on  the  part 
of  the  people.  The  war  which  it  was  feared  would 
prove  an  injury  to  Christianity  has  on  the  con- 
trary proved  a  help.     The  thousands  of  little 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  55 

"comfort  bags"  as  they  are  called,  little  bags  con- 
taining thread  and  needles  and  whatnot  with  tiny 
little  copies  of  the  Gospels  and  Christian  booklets, 
sent  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  by  the  girls  in 
Christian  schools,  have  brought  back  many  let- 
ters filled  with  earnest  thanks.  Christian  women, 
Japanese  and  foreigners^  have  found  many  ways 
of  ministering  to  the  comfort  and  pleasure  of  the 
sick  and  wounded  sent  to  the  hospitals  in  Japan 
for  recovery ;  and  the  cup  of  cold  water  will  not 
be  forgotten.  The  work  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  among  the  soldiers  in  Korea 
and  Manchuria  has  won  the  applause  of  all.  Mer- 
chants who  are  not  Christians  have  contributed  to 
its  support,  and  the  emperor  himself  has  made  a 
gift  to  it  of  five  thousand  dollars;  a  thing  that 
before  the  war  would  not  have  been  dreamed  of. 
The  new  national  self-consciousness  is  moving 
among  the  churches;  and  the  churches  are 
awakening  to  a  new  sense  of  responsibility  which 
is  at  once  Japanese  and  Christian.  It  is  the  com- 
mon belief,  for  which  there  is  much  evidence, 
that  many  now  in  private  are  reading  Christian 
books  and  inquiring  into  Christianity.  Thus  there 
is  forming  round  the  church  an  outer  circle, 
composed  of  men  and  women  for  one  reason  or 
another  favorably  disposed  toward  Christianity. 
This  outer  circle  has  been  compared  to  the  outer 
circle  in  the  days  of  the  apostles;  the  outer  cir- 
cle that  surrounded  the  synagogue. 


S6       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

These  are  the  opportunities  to  be  seized;  and 
the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan  is  endeavoring  to 
do  its  part  to  seize  them.  But  notwithstanding 
all  its  remarkable  progress,  in  comparison  with 
the  mass  of  the  nation  it  is  still  only  a  little  flock. 
Therefore  it  still  needs  help.  Not  help  of  the 
wrong  kind,  not  help  forever,  nor  help  in  super- 
abundance, but  help  of  the  right  kind,  help 
enough,  and  help  long  enough,  to  aid  it  through 
the  present  stage  in  its  history.  Help  that  will 
establish  it  in  numbers,  in  leaders,  and  in  Chris- 
tian institutions.  Help  that  as  speedily  as  possible 
will  bring  the  day  when  there  shall  be  no  more 
need  of  foreign  missions  for  the  evangelization 
of  Japan,  because  foreign  missions  have  given 
way  to  something  better, — to  home  missions  in 
strength. 

The  history  of  the  church  in  Japan  is  in  many 
ways  wonderfully  like  the  history  of  the  church 
in  the  New  Testament.  It  has  seen  the  new  joy, 
the  new  hope,  the  new  enthusiasm,  recorded  in 
the  first  chapter  of  the  Acts.  It  has  seen  believers 
scattered  abroad  preaching  the  word,  and  many 
with  one  accord  giving  heed  to  the  things  that 
were  spoken.  It  has  seen  churches  founded,  as 
at  Antioch,  and  Philippi,  and  Corinth.  But  there 
came  a  change  in  the  church  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  change  to  the  condition  of  which  we 
see  the  shadow  in  Paul's  letter  to  Timothy  and 
Titus,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  in  the 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  57 

messages  to  the  churches  in  Asia.  The  change 
in  the  condition  of  the  church  at  the  close  of  the 
first  century.  With  certain  marked  differences, 
that  in  many  respects  is  the  condition  of  the 
churches  in  Japan  to-day. 

The  thing  to  be  avoided  is  the  thing  that  fol- 
lowed. Little  companies  of  believers  standing; 
alone,  and  making  such  slow  progress  that  for 
two  generations  it  is  hard  to  trace  out  their  his- 
tory. At  that  time,  so  far  as  man's  aid  was  con- 
cerned, there  was  no  help  for  it ;  but  it  is  precisely 
in  this  respect  that  the  position  of  the  church  in 
Japan  is  in  bright  contrast  with  that  of  the  church 
at  the  close  of  the  first  century.  The  church  in 
Japan  does  not  stand  alone;  there  are  other 
churches  in  the  world — great  churches — that  wor- 
ship the  same  Lord  and  Master.  Those  churches 
have  already  carried  Christianity  to  Japan,  and 
they  can  still  help  the  church  in  Japan;  greatly 
help  it  to  a  place  of  strength  and  conquest,  to 
which  it  can  otherwise  attain  only  with  wearisome 
slowness.  This  is  the  call  to  us.  A  call  to  help 
the  little  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan — our  little 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan — ^through  the  present 
stage  in  its  history.  Then  when  that  is  done  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan  will  help  us  in  China. 


Lecture  Three 

METHODS    OF   WORK 


LECTURE  III 
Methods  of  Work 

The  meeting  place  in  which  a  Japanese  congre- 
gation first  assembles  is  commonly  a  Japanese 
house,  somewhat  altered  perhaps  to  meet  the 
necessary  requirements.  That  however  is  not 
permanently  satisfactory;  and  after  a  time  there 
is  a  movement  to  build.  A  part  of  the  funds 
necessary  is  raised  by  the  people ;  sometimes  half, 
and  sometimes  more  than  half.  The  rest  comes 
from  friends  either  in  Japan  or  America.  There 
are  among  the  churches  a  very  few  really  good 
buildings ;  and  a  larger  number  that  may  be  called 
good,  but  plain  to  a  degree.  Most  of  the  build- 
ings are  small  and  very  unattractive.  There  is  a 
growing  feeling  that  sufficient  attention  has  not 
been  paid  to  matters  of  architecture;  and  espe- 
cially to  the  care  of  buildings  when  erected. 

On  entering  most  Japanese  churches  the  travel- 
er from  America  is  probably  somewhat  disap- 
pointed. Everywhere  else  in  Japan  he  finds  the 
picturesque,  and  naturally  he  expects  to  find  it 
in  the  churches  also.  What  he  does  usually  find 
is  a  congregation  seated  and  worshiping  much 
as  at  home ;  except  that  everything  is  cheap, 
and  pretty  much  everything  more  or  less  shabby ; 
6i 


62       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

and  the  sweeping,  the  dusting,  et  cetera,  are  by 
no  means  up  to  the  mark.  The  Japanese  sexton 
could  easily  give  the  most  hardened  American 
sexton  many  points;  and  what  more  can  I  say 
than  that? 

But  it  would  not  be  right  to  say  this  and  noth- 
ing more.  In  many  cases  the  congregation  is 
one  doing  the  work  of  a  congregation.  There  is 
a  real  church  life.  The  pastor  is  supported;  the 
children  and  many  of  the  adults  attend  the  Sun- 
day school;  the  ladies  have  their  various  organi- 
zations as  in  the  churches  at  home ;  and  the  envel- 
opes in  the  collection  boxes  show  that  there  are 
those  who  contribute  systematically.  Here  and 
there  in  a  pew,  though  unrecognized  by  the  travel- 
er, may  be  some  one  well  known  and  respected 
in  the  community.  There  are  women  too  who 
labor  in  the  gospel,  whose  names  are  in  the  Book 
of  Life;  and  households  like  the  household  of 
Stephanas. 

Moreover,  if  the  traveler  be  observing,  his  eye 
will  soon  detect  a  local  coloring  in  the  scene  be- 
fore him.  Commonly  the  men  sit  on  one  side, 
and  the  women  on  the  other.  The  service  of 
course  is  all  in  Japanese.  Most  of  the  tunes  sung, 
it  is  true,  are  the  old  tunes ;  as  most  of  the  hymns 
are  the  old  hymns,  only  in  a  new  tongue.  But 
sometimes  he  will  hear  a  tune  he  never  heard 
before.  It  is  a  Japanese  hymn  set  to  a  Japanese 
air,  now  called  to  a  new  and  higher  service.     If 


METHODS  OF  WORK  63 

it  so  happen  that  the  sacrament  of  baptism  is 
administered,  he  will  see  the  babies  dressed,  not 
in  white,  but  in  some  bright  color;  and  if  it  be 
winter  very  likely  wearing  scarlet  caps.  When 
the  bread  is  broken  and  the  wine  poured  out,  the 
thought  will  come  into  his  mind  that  many  of 
those  who  gather  at  the  table  once  worshiped 
in  the  temples  or  never  worshiped  at  all.  And 
so  as  the  hour  goes  by,  he  will  find  himself  repeat- 
ing the  words,  *'Out  of  every  people  and  nation." 

The  meetings  of  synod  and  the  presbyteries 
need  little  particular  description.  The  docket,  the 
motion,  the  reports,  the  committees,  the  discus- 
sions, the  rules  of  order  (except  that  the 
Japanese  rules  of  order  differ  in  some  particulars 
from  ours),  are  all  the  old  story.  Usually  each 
meeting  of  synod  has  its  own  question  of  special 
interest;  and  the  important  report  is  generally 
that  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions,  of  which  I 
will  speak  by  and  by.  The  work  is  as  well  done 
I  think  as  it  is  at  home ;  and  if  there  is  danger  of 
making  a  slip,  there  are  doctors  of  the  law  sitting 
by,  learned  in  ecclesiastical  principles  and  prece- 
dents, and  not  unconscious  of  their  high  calling. 

But  as  in  the  case  of  the  congregations,  with 
so  much  that  is  familiar,  there  is  a  local  coloring 
too:  The  pulpit  is  decked  with  flowers  ^nd 
grasses  as  one  sees  only  in  Japan.  On  the  wall 
hangs  a  great  sheet  of  paper  covered  with  the 
statistics  of  the  year.    The  dress  too  and  the  Ian- 


64       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

guage;  the  wooden  shoes  left  standing  at  the 
door ;  and  here  and  there  perhaps  a  very  seriously- 
minded  baby,  with  its  head  clean  shorn  except 
for  a  ring  on  top  or  a  tuft  over  either  ear,  survey- 
ing the  scene  from  its  mother's  back  in  rapt  atten- 
tion. These  and  many  other  little  things  proclaim 
the  land  of  tea  and  silk  and  lacquer. 

Apart  from  the  work  done,  the  meetings  of 
synod  especially  are  of  high  value  to  the  mem- 
bers personally.  Old  friends  meet  and  new  friend- 
ships are  formed.  The  coming  together  is  an 
opportunity  to  talk  things  over ;  it  keeps  the  mem- 
bers in  touch  and  is  helpful  to  agreement;  the 
pastor  or  evangelist  who  has  lived  an  isolated  life 
gains  a  new  start.  In  order  the  better  to  accom- 
plish these  ends,  it  has  been  the  custom  for  a 
number  of  years  to  rent  a  tea  house  on  the  bay- 
shore  near  Tokyo,  where  as  many  of  the  mem- 
bers, as  can,  meet  for  two  days  before  the  synod 
convenes.  Papers  are  read  and  subjects  discussed 
much  after  the  fashion  in  ministerial  clubs  in 
America.  At  the  last  meeting  that  I  attended, 
among  other  things,  one  of  the  Japanese  minis- 
ters who  had  received  the  degree  of  Ph.D.  at 
one  of  the  universities  in  Germany  gave  an  ac- 
count of  German  theological  teachers  as  they 
impressed  him. 

In  passing  too  I  should  say  that  without  at- 
tendance upon  a  meeting  of  synod  one  will  hardly 
gain  a  true  idea  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan. 


METHODS  OF  WORK  65 

For  scarcely  anywhere  else  will  one  find  together 
such  a  group  of  representative  men ;  and  without 
knowing  its  representative  men  one  does  not  know 
the  church.  To  the  older  members,  the  meet- 
ings of  synod  bring  back  scenes  never  to  be 
forgotten — times  of  hope  and  fear;  times  when 
the  whole  future  of  the  church  seemed  to  hang 
in  the  balance;  times  of  the  broken  bread  and 
the  falling  wine. 

It  is  usual  to  classify  the  various  forms  of  work 
done  in  a  mission  field  as  medical,  literary,  evan- 
gelistic, and  educational.  This  is  a  convenient 
but  not  quite  exact  division.  For  in  many  cases 
a  particular  piece  of  work  might  properly  be 
placed  in  more  than  one  class;  and  the  object  of 
every  piece  is  the  establishment  of  the  church, 
and  the  evangelization  of  the  nation.  But  the 
classification  is  convenient,  and  I  follow  it. 

During  the  years  preceding  the  first  founding 
of  the  church  in  Japan,  and  for  some  years  after- 
wards, the  work  of  the  medical  missionary  was 
nearly  or  quite  indispensable.  It  relieved  suffer- 
ing and  commended  Christianity  to  many  as  no 
other  work  could  have  done.  But  the  time  is 
now  past  when  it  is  needed  to  gain  an  entrance 
for  Christianity ;  and  so  far  as  the  relief  of  suffer- 
ing is  concerned,  there  are  many  Japanese  physi- 
cians thoroughly  trained  and  equipped.  How 
thoroughly,  the  present  war  has  made  evident. 
For  these  reasons,  medical  work  is  no  longer  re- 


66       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

garded  as  necessary  by  the  Council  of  Missions; 
unless  it  be  in  the  form  of  a  sanitarium  for  Japan- 
ese ladies,  where  they  may  be  brought  within  the 
sphere  of  Christian  influence  under  circumstances 
of  peculiar  promise. 

The  importance  of  really  good  Christian  litera- 
ture in  Japan  it  is  hardly  possible  to  overrate ;  and 
already  a  beginning  has  been  made.  There  is  an 
excellent  translation  of  the  Scriptures  which  is 
a  remarkable  piece  of  work  considering  the  time 
when  it  was  made,  though  by  and  by  it  will  need 
to  be  revised.  A  new  Hymnal  has  recently  been 
published  by  a  committee  representing  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan,  and  also  the  Congre- 
gational, Methodist,  and  Baptist  churches.  The 
work  is  well  done,  and  during  the  past  year 
50,000  copies  were  sold.  The  Christian  literature 
in  Japanese  includes  also  a  considerable  number 
of  exegetical,  historical,  biographical,  apologetic, 
and  theological  works,  as  well  as  many  small 
books  of  various  kinds  and  a  great  many  tracts. 
Some  of  these  have  proved  themselves  to  be  of 
much  value.  For  several  years  Sunday-school 
lessons  have  been  prepared  by  a  committee  com- 
prising members  of  the  Council  of  Missions,  and 
also  members  of  the  American  Board,  Methodist, 
and  Baptist  Missions.  There  are  also  Christian 
magazines  and  newspapers.  Among  the  best  of 
the  newspapers  is  the  Tukuin  Shimpo  (Evangel- 
ist), edited  by  one  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church 


METHODS  OF  WORK  67 

of  Christ  in  Japan,  and  which  now  more  than 
pays  for  itself.  Regarding  this,  one  of  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  council  recently  expressed  what 
is  only  the  common  judgment  when  he  said:  ''We 
cannot  be  too  grateful  for  a  church  paper  so 
sound  in  doctrine,  evangelistic  in  spirit,  and 
thoroughly  wide-awake  and  sensible.  The  Japan- 
ese evangelists  find  it  most  useful  for  themselves 
and  their  inquirers;  and  every  missionary  will 
find  his  knowledge  of  the  church,  his  interest  in 
it  and  love  for  it,  greatly  increased  by  a  regular 
reading  of  the  Tukuin  Shimpo/' 

But  while  a  beginning  has  been  made,  it  must 
be  confessed  that  Christian  literature  in  Japan  has 
not  kept  pace  with  either  the  general  or  the  tech- 
nical literature  which  is  the  outcome  of  the  new 
national  life ;  and  this  is  a  fact  calling  for  careful 
attention,  for  the  Japanese  are  a  reading  people. 
The  daily  newspaper  goes  everywhere;  you  see 
it  by  the  scissors  of  the  barber  and  the  steel  of 
the  butcher.  Especially  too  is  it  to  be  remem- 
bered that  without  an  informing  and  attractive 
Christian  literature,  all  those  who  cannot  read 
some  foreign  language  are  greatly  straitened  in 
every  attempt  to  grow  in  Christian  knowledge. 
Until  it  is  provided,  most  Christian  families  can 
have  but  little  Christian  reading.  But  the  produc- 
tion of  a  good  Christian  literature  in  Japanese  is 
no  easy  task.  It  is  quite  as  hard  to  write  a  good 
book  in  Japanese  as  it  is  in  English;  and  if  it  is 


68       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

not  good  both  in  substance  and  in  form  it  will 
attract  but  few  readers.  There  is  of  course  a 
field  for  translations;  but  to  make  a  translation 
that  is  really  readable  calls  for  a  peculiar  skill. 
This  is  true  of  a  translation  from  P'rench  or  Ger- 
man into  English;  but  translation  from  French 
or  German  into  English  gives  little  idea  of  the 
difficulty  of  translating  English  into  Japanese. 
But  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  to  be  over- 
come in  producing  a  Christian  literature  in  Jap- 
anese much  more  should  and  could  be  done  than 
has  yet  been  done. 

How  are  men  and  women  brought  into  the 
church  ?  How  are  companies  of  believers  formed  ? 
What  of  the  care  of  those  at  a  distance  ? 

There  is  of  course  the  work  of  the  pastor  in 
his  own  congregation  and  the  work  of  the  con- 
gregation as  an  organization.  Besides  this, 
there  is  a  constant  work  done  by  individuals 
for  individuals.  Classes  are  held  for  students 
in  the  government  schools^  for  soldiers  in 
the  army  and  sailors  in  the  navy,  for  policemen, 
and  for  young  men  in  business.  Generally  these 
are  taught  the  Bible  in  English.  Many  of  them 
come  for  the  English,  but  that  opens  the  way  for 
Christian  conversation.  I  have  already  referred 
to  the  conferences  which  Mr.  Kataoka  held  at  his 
residence ;  and  to  the  class  which  met  at  Admiral 
Serata's  house  on  Saturday  afternoons.  Ladies 
cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  Japanese  ladies,  and 


METHODS  OF  WORK  69 

also  visit  the  hospitals.  From  time  to  time  special 
opportunities  present  themselves  of  which  advan- 
tage is  taken.  During  recent  years,  a  number  of 
the  missionaries  have  followed  the  plan  of  insert- 
ing in  the  daily  newspapers  notices  inviting  pri- 
vate correspondence  with  anyone  desiring  infor- 
mation regarding  Christianity.  All  inquiries  are 
given  personal  attention ;  the  writers  are  supplied 
with  suitable  literature ;  and  if  the  correspondence 
opens  the  way,  they  are  visited.  The  most  prom- 
ising persons  to  approach  are  of  course  those 
who  are  in  a  receptive  mood  (the  object  of  this 
plan  is  to  discover  such),  and  the  plan  has  proved 
to  a  considerable  degree  successful.  Public  meet- 
ings are  frequently  held,  especially  in  the  larger 
cities,  at  which  addresses  are  delivered  to  students 
and  others.  In  Tokyo  the  building  most  frequently 
used  for  this  purpose  is  the  hall  of  the  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  There  are  also  places  where  there  is  preach- 
ing at  regular  times  in  the  open  air.  The  mis- 
sion schools  of  course  afford  peculiar  opportuni- 
ties ;  and  many  of  the  scholars  become  Christians. 
Work  of  the  kinds  now  named  is  going  on  con- 
stantly. 

New  congregations  of  believers  which  ulti- 
mately form  churches  are  usually  the  result  of 
definite  effort  to  that  end  originating  in  special 
circumstances.  Some  town,  or  some  section  of  a 
city,  is  recognized  as  a  promising  place  in  which 
to  open  work.    It  may  be  a  place  of  strategic  im- 


70       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

portance  as  a  center;  it  may  be  one  in  a  line  of 
places  already  held.  Often  it  already  has  in  it 
a  nucleus  of  Christians.  Sometimes  a  special 
invitation  comes  to  hold  services  regularly  in 
the  house  of  a  Christian  who  will  gather  in 
a  company  of  friends  or  others.  Cases  of  the 
kinds  mentioned  lead  to  visits ;  often  to  the 
renting  of  a  house  and  the  location  of  a  Jap- 
anese evangelist;  sometimes  to  the  location  of 
a  missionary.  In  all  such  work  the  value  of  a 
capable  wise  Japanese  evangelist  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. To  which  I  add  here,  lest  I  forget  it, 
that  notwithstanding  the  theories  of  some  doctri- 
naire amateurs,  a  congregation  without  regular 
pastoral  care  always  deteriorates.  In  some  places 
the  work  moves  on  successfully  from  the  start ;  in 
some  it  starts  fair  and  then  declines;  in  some  it 
is  uphill  at  the  start  and  never  anything  else. 
All  this  has  a  bearing  upon  the  question  of 
the  evangelization  of  the  world  within  a  definite 
time. 

There  is  another  thing  worth  remembering, 
for  often  the  whole  future  of  the  congregation 
will  be  molded  by  it:  I  know  that  the  gospel  is 
to  be  preached  to  the  poor;  that  there  were  not 
many  noble  in  the  church  at  Corinth ;  that  it  was 
first  the  fishermen,  and  then  the  emperor.  Never- 
theless it  is  of  great  importance  that  the  first 
group  of  Christians  in  a  town  be  men  and  women 
of  intelligence  and  standing  in  the  community. 


METHODS  OF  WORK  71 

Yon  cannot  always  get  them;  but  get  them  if 
you  can — some  CorneHus  or  Crispus,  some  Lois 
or  Lydia,  some  Aquila  and  Priscilla.  With  such 
men  and  women  to  begin  with,  the  poor  will  come 
in  afterwards;  and  they  will  be  welcome.  But  if 
the  first  and  controlling  group  be  ignorant  men 
of  no  position  in  the  place,  Christianity  will  find 
it  hard  to  advance  or  even  to  gain  a  fair  hearing. 
To  which  I  may  add  that  the  poor  in  this  world's 
goods  are  not  always  preeminently  the  poor  in 
spirit. 

Many  of  the  companies  of  Christians,  and  many 
of  the  congregations,  especially  those  in  the  coun- 
try and  smaller  towns,  are  under  the  general  care 
either  of  a  missionary  or  of  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions;  and  this  general  care  constitutes  an 
important  part  of  the  evangelistic  work. 

Many  things  can  be  attended  to  by  correspond- 
ence, but  from  time  to  time  visits  must  be  made. 
These  visits  include  preaching,  the  administra- 
tion of  the  sacraments,  special  meetings,  and  the 
consideration  of  difficulties  and  opportunities. 
Not  every  missionary  has  the  gifts  requisite  for 
this  kind  of  work ;  just  as  not  every  one  so  gifted 
has  the  gifts  needed  for  other  forms  of  work  no 
less  important.  These  evangelistic  tours  are 
sometimes  very  wearisome;  but  that  is  equally 
true  of  the  work  of  a  faithful  teacher  in  a  Chris- 
tian school.  You  will  easily  understand  also  that 
the    evangelistic    tour,    especially    in    pleasant 


^2       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

weather,  has  its  pleasant  side  also.  One  gains  a 
particular  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  of  the 
ways  and  customs  of  the  people.  Sometimes  the 
visitor  is  met  outside  of  the  town  and  given  a 
welcome  that  cannot  but  be  gratifying;  and 
sometimes  there  are  interesting  evenings  in  the 
homes  of  the  Christians.  When  the  visitor  is  a 
missionary,  he  is  frequently  accompanied  by  a 
Japanese  minister,  whom  he  thus  comes  to  know 
better  and  to  sympathize  with  more  deeply  than 
ever  before.  Almost  always  one  puts  up  at  a 
public  inn,  which  is  a  little  world  of  itself. 

The  last  time  I  was  present  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Board  of  Home  Missions,  one  of  the  Japanese 
ministers  gave  an  account  of  an  extensive  tour 
which  he  had  just  made  through  the  Island  of 
Formosa.  That  was  of  course  a  tour  of  more 
than  usual  interest;  but  the  account  has  the 
advantage  of  being  a  picture  of  actual  experience. 

The  special  object  of  the  visit  to  the  island 
was  the  organization  of  another  church,  the  con- 
gregation paying  the  expenses  of  the  journey; 
but  this  special  errand  was  made  the  occasion  of 
a  general  visitation  of  most  of  the  places  in  which 
the  Board  of  Home  Missions  has  work. 

Mr.  Nemura  landed  at  Keetung,  the  port  on  the 
northeast  of  the  island,  which  reminded  him 
of  Yokohama,  when  he  was  a  boy,  in  its  bustle, 
its  incongruities,  and  its  things  not  to  be  named, 
but   with    this   great   difference,    that   he    found 


METHODS  OF  WORK  73 

there  a  group  of  Christians  awaiting  his  arrival, 
who  welcomed  him  and  who  would  hardly  let 
him  go  without  a  promise  to  send  them  a  pastor, 
toward  whose  support  they  would  raise  ten  dol- 
lars a  month.  After  two  days  there,  he  went  to 
Taihoku,  a  rapidly-growing  city  where  there  is 
a  self-supporting  church.  In  Taihoku  he  spent 
three  days;  and  besides  preaching  in  the  church, 
he  lectured  in  the  public  hall — an  interesting 
meeting  at  which  some  three  hundred  were  pres- 
ent, and  of  which  a  full  account  appeared  in  the 
daily  papers.  He  also  held  two  special  meetings, 
one  for  women  and  one  for  young  men  who 
invited  him  to  speak  to  them  at  their  club.  From 
there  he  visited  two  other  places  in  which  the  pas- 
tor of  the  church  at  Taihoku  has  been  carrying 
on  services  regularly,  one  three  hours  distant  by 
rail  and  the  other  somewhat  off  the  line.  There 
he  found  the  people  ready  to  contribute  five  dol- 
lars a  month.  Taking  ship  at  Tamsui  on  the 
northwest  coast  he  sailed  south  to  Ampi,  the 
port  of  Tainau  and  a  place  beautiful  for  situa- 
tion, stopping  by  the  way  at  the  Pescadores.  At 
Ampi,  greatly  to  the  surprise  of  both,  he  met  an 
old  friend,  a  captain  of  gens  d'armes,  a  Christian 
man  who  invited  him  to  his  office  where  he  ar- 
ranged for  a  meeting  with  his  men  and  others. 
From  Ampi  he  went  to  Tainau,  his  place  of  des- 
tination. There  he  organized  the  church,  which 
promised  ten  dollars  a  month  toward  the  salary 


74       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

of  a  pastor.  He  then  returned  north  again  to 
Taihoku  by  a  construction  train,  ending  the  trip 
with  a  second  visit  to  Tamsui,  where  he  held  a 
meeting  lasting  late  into  the  night. 

It  was  a  hard  trip,  and  when  it  was  over  he  was 
nearly  tired  out,  but  there  were  two  things  that 
constantly  impressed  him,  and  made  him  forget 
his  weariness.  Everywhere  he  went  men  were 
ready  to  listen.  It  was  not  that  the  natural  man 
ceases  to  be  a  natural  man  when  he  goes  to  For- 
mosa; but  in  Formosa  there  are  many  intelligent 
men  of  inquiring  minds,  who  being  without  the 
thousand  and  one  things  to  engross  their  atten- 
tion in  Japan  itself,  have  ears  to  hear.  The  other 
thing  that  constantly  impressed  him  was  the 
fact  that  wherever  he  went  he  met  Christians. 
Even  on  the  treeless  Pescadores  he  found  a 
little  company. 

During  recent  years  a  number  of  foreign  evan- 
gelists have  visited  Japan;  and  in  some  cases  at 
least  their  preaching  has  been  reported  as  attend- 
ed with  marked  success,  signs  and  wonders  fol- 
lowing. More  than  once  I  have  read,  in  papers 
published  in  America,  of  a  thousand  serious  in- 
quirers as  the  fruit  of  a  few  weeks'  work.  I 
would  not  willingly  say  anything  to  disparage 
any  sincere  endeavor  to  aid  in  the  evangelization 
of  Japan.  But  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  one 
accustomed  for  years  to  address  only  congrega- 
tions familiar  with  the  thought  of  one  personal 


METHODS  OF  WORK  75 

living  God  and  its  necessary  implications,  and 
acquainted  with  the  great  out-standing  facts  of 
Christianity,  are  very  serious  when  he  attempts 
to  put  himself  upon  the  plane  of  a  promiscuous 
assembly  in  Japan.  To  many  of  those  who 
hear  him,  the  thought  of  one  personal  God  is  a 
new  or  nearly  new  conception;  to  others,  a  con- 
ception not  new  but  in  clear  contradiction  to  all 
deep  thinking ;  and  so  far  as  worship  is  concerned, 
those  who  worship  at  all  worship  Kamis  and 
Hotokcs,  ancestral  ghosts,  and  imaginary  foxes. 
The  speaker  may  have  a  respectful  hearing.  At 
the  close  of  his  address,  many  may  raise  their 
hands  in  response  to  an  invitation  to  make  a 
pledge  in  its  language  full  of  meaning.  He  may 
count  them  too  and  add  the  figures  up  correctly. 
But  this  should  not  deceive  him.  To  be  of  value, 
such  a  response  must  be  really  intelligent.  ''Spur- 
geon  would  have  failed  in  addressing  promiscu- 
ous assemblies  in  Japan;  and  so  would  Moody, 
if  he  had  made  the  addresses  which  he  made  in 
Scotland  and  America,"  the  Japanese  minister 
whose  tour  in  Formosa  I  have  just  described, 
once  said  to  me.  We  often  speak  of  the  old  and 
simple  story.  In  America  it  is  old  and  simple; 
in  Japan  it  is  still  new  and  strange.  It  is  certainly 
the  conviction  of  the  most  discriminating  Japan- 
ese, and  of  many  missionaries,  that  the  foreign 
evangelist  can  speak  understandingly  only  to 
Christians,  or  to  those  already  instructed  in  the 


76       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

truths  of  Christianity.  There  is  also  a  signifi- 
cance worth  noting  in  the  fact  that  while  Mr. 
Nemura's  trip  through  Formosa  was  full  of  en- 
couragement, it  was  accompanied  by  no  sensa- 
tional incidents,  though  no  foreign  evangelist 
could  approach  Mr.  Nemura  in  intelligently  and 
effectively  presenting  Christianity  to  an  audience 
in  Japan.  Remember  too  that  the  words  of  a  for- 
eign evangelist  must  squeeze  their  way  through 
the  lips  of  an  interpreter,  who  is  not  always  an 
expert  by  any  means.  So  much  on  this  subject  it 
seems  to  me  worth  while  to  say  to  you  in  passing. 

Closely  connected  with  the  evangelistic  work  is 
the  training  of  theological  students.  There  are 
now  two  theological  schools  cooperating  with 
the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan:  One  in  Sendai, 
maintained  by  the  mission  of  the  Reformed  Ger- 
man Church ;  and  one  in  Tokyo — the  Theological 
Department  of  the  Meiji  Gakuin — in  which  our 
mission  joins  with  those  of  the  Reformed  (Dutch) 
and  the  Southern  Presbyterian  churches. 

The  history  of  theological  education  in  Japan 
is  a  long  story,  and  I  must  content  myself  with 
a  few  general  statements.  One  question  never 
yet  settled  is  whether  there  should  be  two  distinct 
courses:  One  more  brief  and  simple;  the  other 
longer,  more  comprehensive,  and  including  a 
good  reading  knowledge  of  English.  Some  years 
ago  the  experiment  of  two  courses  was  tried,  and 
the  experience  was  rather  against  it.    For  various 


METHODS  OF  WORK  77 

reasons  however  the  experiment  is  now  being 
tried  again.  Theoretically,  the  argument  in  favor 
of  a  second  and  more  simple  course  seems 
promising:  A  number  of  men  imperfectly  edu- 
cated, it  is  true,  but  nevertheless  preaching 
the  gospel.  In  fact  however  it  was  formerly 
found  that  those  who  took  the  simple  course 
did  not  wear  so  well;  and  the  best  of  them 
were  not  satisfied  with  their  position.  This 
also  is  to  be  said :  The  more  comprehensive  course 
is  not  too  difficult  a  one ;  it  contains  nothing  more 
than  every  minister  should  know ;  and  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  education  in  Japan  it  is  highly  and 
increasingly  important  that  the  Christian  minister 
should  not  be  professionally  inferior  in  education 
to  the  physician,  the  lawyer,  or  the  soldier. 

Another  question  presenting  many  difficulties 
is  that  of  the  medium  of  instruction :  How  far 
shall  it  be  in  Japanese,  and  how  far  in  English? 
Many  plans  have  been  proposed,  and  most  if  not 
all  of  them  have  been  tried.  At  present  the  lan- 
guage of  the  class  room  is  almost  entirely  Japan- 
ese, though  a  few  classes  are  taught  in  English, 
and  many  of  the  text-books  are  in  English.  The 
reason  for  this  use  of  English  is  I  think  obvious. 
The  limitations  of  a  minister  in  Japan  without 
access  to  a  wide  range  of  Christian  literature  are 
so  very  great;  and  such  access  can  be  attained 
only  by  the  ability  to  read  a  foreign  language. 

The  work  of  the  theological  schools  in  Japan 


78       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

has  been  one  of  many  difficulties,  and  no  doubt 
many  imperfections;  but  it  will  always  deserve 
kindly  recognition.  With  few  exceptions  all  the 
ministers  in  the  church  received  their  early  train- 
ing in  them;  and  out  of  the  one  hundred  and 
thirty-two  graduates  of  our  school  in  Tokyo  now 
living,  nearly  a  hundred  are  still  in  the  service 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan  or  of  other 
evangelical  churches. 

The  number  of  theological  students  is  now  not 
nearly  so  great  as  it  was  for  a  number  of  years. 
For  this  there  are  several  reasons.  Attractive 
openings  for  young  men  in  other  callings  are 
now  much  more  numerous  than  formerly.  There 
is  a  new  love  of  gold  inspired  by  a  nearer  and 
clearer  vision  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and 
the  glory  of  them — the  yellow  peril  for  Japan,  as 
one  of  the  Japanese  ministers  has  called  it.  Then 
too  the  difficulties  and  trials  of  the  pastor  and 
evangelist  are  far  more  evident  than  they  were 
when  the  young  men  had  for  their  watchword, 
''Christ  for  Japan,  and  Japan  for  Christ."  But  the 
need  for  ministers,  and  especially  for  those  having 
the  qualifications  for  leadership,  is  constant  and 
constantly  increasing,  and  there  are  many  who 
are  praying  that  God  will  speedily  find  and  send 
them  into  the  vineyard.  It  may  be  too  that  there 
is  room  for  improvement  in  some  of  our  methods. 

Besides  the  theological  schools  for  young  men 
there  are  training  schools  for  Bible-women.    As 


METHODS  OF  WORK  79 

a  rule  those  who  enter  these  schools  are  women 
in  early  mi  Idle  life  but  free  from  family  cares. 
The  high  schools  for  girls  also  give  their  pupils 
a  thorough  training  for  Christian  work  ;  and  many 
of  their  graduates  also  have  proved  themselves  in 
the  highest  degree  useful. 

But  besides  theological  schools  and  schools  for 
the  training  of  Bible-women,  there  are  also  other 
schools  maintained  by  the  missions.  There  are 
primary  schools  for  boys  and  girls  having  some 
twelve  hundred  pupils;  a  number  of  higher 
schools  for  girls  and  young  women,  having  some 
eight  or  nine  hundred  pupils ;  and  three  for  boys, 
with  four  or  five  hundred  pupils.  These  schools 
are  of  various  grades,  and  each  one  has  its  own 
work  and  history.  It  would  take  much  too  long 
to  set  forth  the  facts  necessary  to  a  clear  under- 
standing of  their  character.  I  will  therefore  con- 
fine myself  to  a  few  general  statements  regarding 
Christian  education  in  Japan,  and  then  select  a 
single  school  for  brief  description. 

The  Council  of  Missions  has  always  stood  for 
Christian  education.  What  is  meant  by  Christian 
education  is  this:  That  the  pupils  shall  receive 
as  good  a  general  education  as  it  is  in  the  power 
of  the  mission  to  give;  that  this  general  educa- 
tion shall  be  accompanied  with  careful  instruc- 
tion in  the  truths  of  Christianity;  and  that  no 
pains  shall  be  spared  by  personal  endeavor  to 
establish  the  pupils  in  Christian  character.     To 


8o       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

take  any  other  position  is  to  forget  history  and 
become  the  partisan  of  a  one-sided  policy  in 
missions. 

But  the  question  is  sometimes  asked,  Why  in 
a  country  where  the  government  is  doing  so 
much  for  education,  should  the  churches  in 
America  be  called  upon  to  maintain  schools,  and 
especially  those  of  a  high  grade  ? 

No  one  would  contend  that  the  churches  in 
America  should  be  asked  to  do  the  work  of  the 
Japanese  government,  and  to  put  the  matter  in 
that  way  is  simply  to  set  up  a  man  of  straw.  It 
is  true  that  the  whole  nation  is  being  educated. 
But  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  national 
system  of  education  is  one  in  which  all  teaching 
of  religion  is  prohibited.  Not  only  is  the  system 
nonreligious  in  principle,  but  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  some  officials  and  some  teachers  it  is 
anti-Christian  in  its  influence.  Therefore  un- 
less Christian  schools  are  provided,  the  children 
of  Christians,  not  to  mention  others,  will  be  con- 
strained to  receive  their  education  under  influ- 
ences seldom  favorable  and  often  adverse  to  faith 
in  Christianity.  This  situation  calls  for  particular 
consideration  when  it  is  remembered  that  Chris- 
tian schools  in  Japan  have  now  a  large  and  grow- 
ing Christian  constituency.  Of  the  two  hundred 
and  twenty-three  students  in  our  institution  in 
Tokyo  for  boys  and  young  men,  between  thirty 
and  forty  per  cent  come  from  Christian  famiUes 


METHODS  OF  WORK  8i 

or  through  the  influence  of  Christian  friends. 
Therefore,  among  other  reasons,  it  is  precisely 
because  the  government  is  doing  so  much  for  the 
secular,  that  is  the  nonreligious,  education  of 
Japan,  that  Christian  education  is  imperatively 
called  for. 

But  a  second  question  is  sometimes  put.  If 
Christian  schools  are  needed  in  Japan,  why  can- 
not they  be  established  and  maintained  by  the 
Japanese  Christians  themselves? 

The  question  in  Japan  is  not,  as  it  may  be  in 
some  countries,  one  of  carrying  on  an  elementary 
school  in  which  a  group  of  Christians  may  have 
their  children  instructed  in  the  rudiments  of 
knowledge.  The  whole  country  is  supplied  by 
the  government  with  good  primary,  middle,  and 
higher  schools;  and  if  Christian  schools  of  the 
same  grade  cannot  be  maintained,  Christian  edu- 
cation must  be  given  up. 

As  compared  with  the  Christians  in  some  coun- 
tries, the  Japanese  Christians  are  no  doubt  well 
to  do.  There  are  among  them  some  persons  rela- 
tively of  means,  but  the  majority  are  from  among 
the  poor.  Many  of  the  churches  have  not  yet 
attained  to  full  self-support,  their  first  duty,  and 
they  carry  on  the  work  of  their  Board  of  Home 
Missions  only  through  constant  effort  on  the  part 
of  their  pastors  and  others  who  are  impressed 
with  a  sense  of  the  responsibility  of  the  church 
in  the  matter. 


82       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Japanese  Chris- 
tians cannot  be  expected  to  bear  the  burden  of  the 
Christian  education  requisite.  The  number  of 
those  in  America,  with  all  its  wealth,  who  are  able 
to  make  gifts  to  schools  and  colleges  is  com- 
paratively small;  in  Japan  it  is  far  smaller,  and 
especially  among  those  who  are  interested  in 
Christian  education.  Most  of  the  students  in  our 
American  private  schools  and  colleges  pay  for 
their  board  and  tuition,  but  that  is  all.  Nine 
tenths  of  the  students  in  our  institution  in  Tokyo 
for  boys  and  young  men,  for  example,  do  the 
same;  and  more  than  that  cannot  fairly  be  ex- 
pected for  some  years  to  come. 

There  are  other  facts  connected  with  Christian 
education  in  Japan  that  deserve  notice ;  but  I  will 
limit  myself  to  one  of  them.  In  their  early  history, 
the  Christian  schools  were  the  best  in  the  country, 
and  students  flocked  to  them  by  a  natural  choice. 
To-day  they  are  in  some  respects  actually  better 
than  ever;  but  relatively  they  are  not  so.  There 
is  nothing  more  marked  in  the  progress  of  Japan 
during  the  past  twenty  years  than  the  steady  im- 
provement of  the  government  schools.  In  certain 
respects  many  of  them,  especially  those  in  the 
large  cities,  are  better  equipped  than  the  Christian 
schools.  Their  funds  also,  in  many  cases,  enable 
them  to  obtain  a  higher  grade  of  Japanese  teach- 
ers, and  the  effect  of  this  is  what  might  be  ex- 
pected.    Many   students,   who   in   the   old   days 


METHODS  OF  WORK  83 

would  certainly  have  gone  to  Christian  schools, 
are  now  drawn  to  the  government's  schools,  or 
to  certain  private  institutions.  This  is  a  condi- 
tion of  which  no  one  can  reasonably  complain; 
but  it  must  be  met  by  the  Christian  schools  if 
they  are  to  maintain  their  reputation;  if  they  are 
to  get  the  most  desirable  students;  and  if  they 
are  to  do  justice  to  their  own  Christian  con- 
stituency. This  means  that  the  appropriations  for 
the  schools  must  be  increased,  and  that  at  least 
the  two  high  schools  in  Tokyo — the  one  for 
boys  and  young  men,  and  the  other  for  girls  and 
young  women — should  be  endowed.  I  may 
add  that  other  missions  have  already  begun  to 
move  in  this  direction. 

And  now  to  speak  more  particularly  though 
briefly  of  one  of  the  schools.  For  several  reasons 
I  select  Joshi  Gakuin,  our  high  school  for  girls 
in  Tokyo.  I  do  this  because  I  wish  to  emphasize 
the  value  of  high  schools  for  girls  and  young 
women,  because  I  happen  to  be  somewhat  in- 
timately acquainted  with  the  work  of  the  school ; 
and  because  there  is  no  school  in  all  Japan 
that  ranks  higher  in  character  and  achievement. 
I  must  not  omit  to  say  however  that  I  might 
equally  well  have  chosen  Meiji  Gakuin,  our  insti- 
tution for  boys  and  young  men. 

Joshi  Gakuin  is  situated  in  one  of  the  best 
sections  of  Tokyo,  not  far  from  the  Imperial 
Residence.     It  has  something  over  two  hundred 


84       THE  CHURCH  O.F  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

pupils ;  half  of  whom  come  from  all  parts  of  Japan 
and  live  in  the  dormitories,  and  the  other  half 
are  day  pupils  from  homes  in  the  neighborhood. 
Socially  they  belong  to  all  classes.  Some  come 
from  families  of  rank  or  large  wealth,  and  a  few 
are  from  the  poor,  for  it  always  has  been  a  prin- 
ciple of  the  school  that  it  shall  not  be  exclusive. 
The  fathers  of  most  are  bankers,  physicians,  law- 
]^ers,  ministers,  teachers,  officials,  merchants,  well- 
to-do  farmers,  and  officers  in  the  army  or  navy. 
The  school  has  three  departments:  The  Prepara- 
tory, of  four  years;  the  Academic,  also  of  four 
years ;  and  the  Advanced  of  two  years.  In  grade 
it  is  not  excelled  by  any  school  for  girls  and  young 
women  in  Japan,  either  mission  or  government. 
In  age  the  pupils  range  from  twelve  to  twenty- 
two,  and  experience  shows  that  the  most  promis- 
ing years  are  those  from  sixteen  upwards.  Before 
that  the  pupils  are  simply  children ;  but  then  they 
grow  serious  and  come  to  have  a  purpose  in  life. 
The  molding  power  of  the  school  increases  al- 
most precisely  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  their 
stay.  Particularly  is  this  true  of  those  who  re- 
main to  take  the  advanced  course.  On  the  other 
hand  those  who  leave  early,  either  to  be  married 
or  for  some  other  reason,  may  be  promising  pu- 
pils ;  but  as  a  rule  their  future  is  much  more  likely 
to  prove  disappointing.  They  have  not  been  suf- 
ficiently established  to  overcome  the  environment 
into  which  they  enter ;  and  they  exercise  relatively 


METHODS  OF  WORK  85 

little  Christian  influence  over  those  about  them. 
Something  of  the  same  kind  may  be  said  of  the 
dormitory  as  compared  with  the  day  pupils.  At 
one  time  it  was  questioned  whether  day  pupils 
might  not  be  more  desirable  than  boarders.  The 
argument  was  that  residence  in  a  Christian  school 
resembles  life  in  a  hothouse,  and  that  girls  so 
trained  may  not  so  well  bear  transplanting  into 
the  open  air  of  daily  life.  But  the  experience  of 
many  years  in  Joshi  Gakuin  is  all  on  the  other 
side.  The  proportion  of  women  of  sterling  Chris- 
tian character  is  far  greater  among  those  who 
resided  in  the  institution. 

The  school  life  is  what  might  be  expected  in  a 
school  whose  traditions  and  spirit  are  in  a  marked 
degree  both  Christian  and  rational ;  and  it  reaches 
out  beyond  the  school,  for  the  school  is  a  center 
of  Christian  work.  On  graduation  many  of  the 
girls  for  a  time  teach  in  Christian  schools,  or 
become  the  assistants  of  ladies  engaged  in  Chris- 
tian work.  Then,  as  it  should  be,  they  marry. 
With  rare  exceptions  they  continue  in  touch  with 
the  institution,  to  which  the  older  ones  are  now 
sending  their  own  daughters.  It  is  a  constant 
compensation  to  their  teachers  to  know  that  so 
many  of  them  are  living  the  lives  of  Christian 
wives  and  mothers,  and  to  see  so  many  influential 
for  Christianity  both  within  and  without  the 
church.  Thus,  as  an  instrument  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan,  the 


86       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

value  of  such  an  institution  can  hardly  be  over- 
stated. The  extent  of  its  influence  is  often  a  new 
surprise. 

Some  time  ago  I  asked  one  of  the  ladies  who 
has  known  the  inner  life  of  the  girls  intimately 
for  years  as  to  the  religious  experience  common 
to  the  school.  In  passing  I  should  say  that  with 
one  exception  all  the  graduates — not  all  who 
have  ever  attended  the  school — are  Christian 
women  by  profession.  As  a  rule,  unless  she  comes 
from  a  Christian  home,  a  girl  on  entering  the 
school  knows  little  or  nothing  of  Christianity. 
Sometimes  she  is  prejudiced  against  it;  but  she 
enters  her  class ;  and,  as  a  part  of  the  regular  work 
of  the  day,  is  systematically  taught  the  truths  of 
Christianity.  Day  by  day  passes,  and  before  very 
long  she  can  say,  "I  believe  in  God,  the  Father 
Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth."  Months 
come  and  go ;  and  by  and  by  she  can  say,  "And  in 
Jesus  Christ,  His  only  Son,  our  Lord."  That  takes 
much  longer.  The  seasons  pass,  and  it  may  be 
the  years  too,  in  slow  procession.  At  last  through 
hopes  and  fears  she  comes  to  know  the  things  of 
Christ  with  a  knowledge  of  her  own  ;  and  now  she 
can  say:  "And  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Lord  and 
Giver  of  life."  She  is  a  light  in  the  world;  a 
daughter  of  the  kingdom. 

Yes,  it  takes  toil  and  time  to  evangelize  the  in- 
dividual soul,  to  teach  it  the  things  which  Christ 
commanded   so  that   it  can   intelligently   receive 


METHODS  OF  WORK  87 

him  as  Teacher,  Master,  Saviour,  and  Friend. 
This  is  commonly  true  even  in  the  case  of  one 
who  comes  within  the  sphere  of  Christian  influ- 
ence when  the  spirit  is  plastic  and  ready  to  re- 
ceive the  word  in  meekness ;  and  even  in  the  case 
of  one  of  those  of  whom  the  great  Teacher  said, 
''Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven/'  How  much 
more  then,  to  evangelize  the  world !  Yes,  toil  and 
time.  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the 
end  of  the  world/' 


Lecture  Four 

NOTABLE    EVENTS    IN    THE    HISTORY 
OF   THE   CHURCH 


LECTURE  IV 

Notable  Events  in  the  History  of  the 
Church 

From  time  to  time  in  the  history  of  a  church 
there  occur  events  of  wide-reaching  importance. 
This  fact  is  conspicuously  illustrated  in  that  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan ;  and  a  knowledge 
of  those  events  is  essential  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
history.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  first  found- 
ing of  the  church,  the  organization  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Missions  cooperating  with  it,  the  first 
rapid  advance  and  the  reaction  that  followed  it. 
I  will  now  speak  as  briefly  as  possible,  of  a  num- 
ber of  other  events  peculiarly  worthy  of  attention. 

In  the  autumn  of  1884,  Count  Itagaki,  the 
leader  of  the  Liberal  Party,  was  in  Tokyo.  While 
there  he  met  some  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  in  Japan,  and  through  them  became 
interested  in  Christianity — not  personally,  but 
as  a  statesman  who  saw  in  It  a  force  beneficial  to 
the  nation.  Accordingly,  he  invited  a  delegation 
to  visit  the  city  of  KochI,  his  own  home  in  the 
Province  of  Fosa.  Subsequently  others  followed ; 
and  before  the  end  a  large  number  of  both  Jap- 
anese and  missionaries  were  employed,  for  the 
work  went  on  for  more  than  a  year. 

91 


92       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

Fosa  has  long  been  a  province  of  mark  in  the 
history  of  Japan.  With  Satsuma  and  Choshi  it 
bore  the  brunt  in  the  struggle  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  emperor.  It  always  was,  and  is  now, 
the  home  of  manly  sports.  There  is  to  be  seen 
the  game  of  dakyu,  a  kind  of  polo.  Archery  is 
there  practiced  not  only  on  foot,  but  on  horseback 
at  full  gallop.  Nowhere  else,  not  even  in  Japan, 
has  the  sword  been  held  in  higher  honor.  A 
sword  once  drawn  could  never  be  sheathed  un- 
stained; and  in  Fosa  even  the  farmers  were 
swordsmen.  There  also  etiquette  and  ceremony 
reigned;  and  along  with  them  was  associated  a 
love  for  porcelain,  fine  lacquer,  and  painting.  Be- 
fore the  Restoration,  the  province  was  noted  for 
its  conservatism  and  distrust  of  foreigners;  but 
since  then  it  has  become  a  center  of  liberal  ideas. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  get  a  fair 
hearing;  and  this  was  accomplished  through  the 
influence  of  Count  Itagaki.  Everything  possible 
also  in  the  way  of  preliminary  personal  work  was 
done  by  the  Japanese  members  of  the  company; 
and  when  all  was  ready  a  series  of  public  meet- 
ings was  held  in  a  theater.  These  meetings  com- 
monly occupied  a  whole  afternoon,  and  some- 
times a  whole  evening  also.  Often  as  many  as 
half  a  dozen  lectures  were  delivered  in  succes- 
sion. This  method  of  work  has  long  since  lost 
its  novelty;  and  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  gather 
the  old  audiences.    But  at  the  time  of  the  cam- 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  93 

paign  in  Fosa,  and  for  several  years  before  and 
after,  it  was  an  agency  constantly  made  use  of; 
and  often  the  buildings  were  packed  to  overflow- 
ing. Some  of  those  meetings  will  never  be  for- 
gotten by  those  who  witnessed  them :  The  crowds, 
the  men  holding  their  pipes  in  their  mouths  with- 
out smoking,  the  silence  unbroken  except  by  the 
voice  of  the  speaker,  or  the  whisper  at  times  of 
a  mother  hushing  a  child,  and  once  I  remember  by 
the  tones  of  a  temple  bell  floating  across  the  city. 

As  was  usually  the  case  in  such  meetings,  some 
of  the  topics  of  the  lectures  had  to  do  with  reli- 
gion and  some  had  not.  Education,  the  education 
of  women,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  impor- 
tance of  religion,  the  existence  of  God  and  his 
personality,  these  were  among  the  subjects 
chosen.  There  was  I  think  during  the  meetings 
no  scene  of  surpassing  interest;  but  the  object 
sought  was  accomplished.  The  lectures  were  well 
attended;  the  attention  respectful;  thought  was 
awakened  and  inquiry  started.  As  a  result,  a  con- 
siderable number  desired  to  meet  the  speakers 
personally.  These  however  were  not  all  in  the 
same  frame  of  mind ;  and  for  each  class  a  special 
series  of  meetings  was  arranged. 

One  class  was  ready  to  come  to  meetings  for 
general  conversation,  without  however  in  any  way 
committing  themselves  to  an  interest  in  Chris- 
tianity. They  met  simply  as  a  company  of  gen- 
tlemen, and  sought  information  on  such  matters 


94       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

as  these:  The  relation  of  the  President,  Con- 
gress, and  the  Supreme  Court,  to  one  another; 
the  functions  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives; methods  of  taxation,  free  trade,  and 
protection;  the  pubHc-school  system;  the  posi- 
tion of  farmers  in  America.  The  foreigners  in 
turn  inquired  as  to  the  state  of  Japan  at  the  time 
when  Perry  arrived,  the  causes  leading  to  the 
Restoration,  tenant  rights,  the  prison  system,  and 
the  popular  belief  in  possession  by  foxes.  The 
object  of  these  meetings  was  personal  acquaint- 
ance, and  so  perhaps  such  a  relation  as  would 
enable  one  to  meet  another  as  a  friend  and  say 
to  him,  "Come  and  see." 

A  second  class  was  ready  to  do  more.  They 
were  willing  to  attend  meetings  held  in  private 
for  inquiry  and  discussion  regarding  questions 
of  religion.  Most  of  the  men  were  Confucian  in 
their  thinking;  and  some  of  them  were  more  or 
less  acquainted  with  the  agnosticism  of  the  West. 
Naturally  therefore  the  following  were  among  the 
questions  propounded:  Has  man  a  spiritual  na- 
ture ?  You  speak  of  God  as  Creator,  but  how  can 
you  prove  that  matter  is  not  eternal  ?  You  speak 
of  God  and  of  knowing  him;  but  may  not  the 
universe  be  an  illusion;  and  if  the  universe,  why 
not  God?  You  speak  of  God  as  infinite,  and  yet 
as  personal ;  how  can  that  be  ?  You  speak  of  God 
as  good,  yet  the  world  is  full  of  pain  and  sorrow. 
You  speak  of  conscience.     What  is  conscience? 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  95 

And  after  all,  how  do  you  know  that  you  know  ? 
Questions  of  this  sort  necessarily  made  these 
inquiry  meetings  almost  exclusively  apologetic; 
and  another  series  of  meetings  was  therefore  ar- 
ranged for  the  direct  study  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
book  selected  was  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

So  far  as  the  philosophical  questions  were  con- 
cerned the  conclusion  was  reached  that  the  an- 
swers were  sufficiently  convincing  to  open  the 
way  to  a  friendly  consideration  of  Christianity. 
The  study  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  also  went 
on  without  serious  difficulty  until  the  third  chap- 
ter was  reached.  Then  there  was  trouble.  At 
that  point  they  saw  clearly  what  up  to  that  time 
they  had  seen  only  dimly  that  the  corner  stone  of 
Christianity  is  the  Incarnation,  and  at  that  they 
drew  back.  They  knew  that  it  was  a  doctrine 
accepted  by  many;  but  not  they  supposed  by  in- 
telligent, educated  men.  A  veritable  incarnation 
made  Christianity  to  them  as  incredible  as  Bud- 
dhism. That  they  could  go  no  further  was  a  mat- 
ter only  for  regret;  but  in  fact  they  did  not  be- 
lieve, and  they  could  not  say  that  they  did. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  when  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  company  then  at  work  to  return 
home;  and  it  parted  from  the  inquirers  brethren 
beloved  in  the  flesh,  if  not  yet  it  might  be  in  the 
Lord.  But  before  long  there  was  another  visit. 
The  personal  greeting  on  arrival  was  as  cordial 
as  ever,  nor  was  there  any  diminution  in  interest. 


96       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

The  consummation  also  was  now  at  hand.  The 
Gospel  of  John  was  selected  for  study;  the  mys- 
tery of  the  Incarnation  was  not  minimized,  but 
the  philosophical  difficulties  had  lost  their  old 
ascendency,  and  a  door  was  opened  to  faith.  The 
hands  that  opened  the  door  were  the  words  of 
Christ  himself,  and  the  experience  of  the  church 
from  age  to  age. 

A  little  more  than  a  year  after  the  first  company 
arrived  eight  persons  were  baptized,  and  a  few 
months  later  thirteen  more.  A  church  was  organ- 
ized which  from  that  day  to  this  has  been  one  of 
the  strongest  in  Japan.  From  the  beginning  it 
has  been  self-supporting;  in  liberality  it  has  al- 
ways ranked  among  the  highest;  it  has  given  an 
exceptionally  large  number  of  young  men  to  the 
ministry ;  it  has  kindled  lights  in  the  surrounding 
villages,  and  stood  for  Christianity  throughout 
the  province.  Its  present  membership  is  about 
eight  hundred. 

The  founding  of  the  church  in  Fosa  is  I  think 
the  most  interesting  piece  of  evangelistic  work 
that  ever  has  been  done  in  Japan.  In  many  ways 
too  it  is  highly  instructive.  The  way  was  pre- 
pared by  the  influence  of  a  man  of  high  standing 
who  was  not  himself  a  Christian.  The  men  who 
formed  the  church  were  as  a  company  excep- 
tional. One  of  them  was  Mr.  Kataoka,  after- 
wards for  a  number  of  years  President  of  the 
Lower  House  of  the  National  Diet,  of  whom  I 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  97 

have  already  spoken.  The  result  was  accom- 
plished by  the  concentration  of  a  large  force  with 
intervals  of  absence  systematically  at  work  for 
more  than  a  year ;  and  that  result  was  not  a  large 
number  of  men  who  accepted  Christianity  super- 
ficially, but  a  little  company  who  professed  it  only 
after  careful  and  intelligent  examination.  One 
thing  more.  With  all  Japan  to  choose  from,  with 
the  men  who  did  the  work  the  better  prepared 
by  the  experience  gained  in  the  work,  it  was  still 
never  possible  in  another  place  to  repeat  the  work 
in  Fosa.     These  are  things  worth  remembering. 

Some  years  ago,  as  you  may  remember,  the 
Bishops  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  America,  and 
a  little  later  the  Lambeth  Conference,  issued  a 
proposal  looking  toward  the  reunion  of  Chris- 
tendom. About  the  same  time,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  the  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
Japan,  a  like  proposal  was  issued  in  Japan. 

For  a  while  the  subject  awakened  considerable 
interest  and  led  to  a  long  correspondence  between 
the  Bishop  and  the  Council  of  Missions;  but  the 
correspondence  ended  where  it  began.  The  pro- 
posal was  accompanied  with  a  sermon  preached 
by  the  Bishop,  in  which  it  was  made  clear  that 
the  crucial  question — the  question  of  orders — was 
to  be  counted  among  the  things  not  to  be  shaken. 
The  correspondence  established  the  fact  also  that 
the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan  could  not  be  re- 
garded as  a  church  of  Christ  in  the  proper  sense 


98       THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

of  the  word.  The  proposal  thus  failed  at  the  out- 
set. It  did  not  suffer  shipwreck ;  it  simply  never 
crossed  the  bar. 

But  this  proposal  had  hardly  been  laid  aside 
as  impracticable,  when  the  question  was  raised  of 
the  possibility  of  organic  union  with  the  Congre- 
gational churches.  The  interest  excited  by  that 
question  was  deep  and  prolonged.  The  leaders 
in  both  bodies  in  many  cases  were  personal 
friends,  and  warmly  favored  such  a  union.  It  was 
moreover  a  thing  that  had  long  been  in  the  hearts 
of  many.  Among  some  there  was  an  old  feeling 
that  only  the  presence  of  the  foreigner  had  pre- 
vented its  accomplishment  years  before.  This  also 
was  to  be  said :  As  both  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
Japan,  and  the  Congregational  churches,  were 
either  of  them  alone  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  strong 
as  all  the  other  Protestant  churches  combined, 
the  organic  union  of  the  two  bodies  would  there- 
fore have  gone  far  toward  preventing  the  waste- 
ful multiplication  of  small  churches  throughout 
the  country. 

The  negotiations  at  the  outset  were  full  of 
promise.  It  was  cordially  agreed  that  there  must 
be  real  concessions  on  both  sides,  and  also  that 
there  must  be  a  consistent  system  of  government 
shaped  by  an  underlying  dominant  principle.  The 
principle  adopted  was  this :  The  separate  congre- 
gations, acting  as  separate  congregations,  were 
to  be  regarded  as  the  original  source  of  eccle- 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  99 

siastical  authority.  That  was  in  accordance  with 
the  Congregational  principle  of  the  autonomy  of 
the  local  church.  For  the  sake  however  of  the 
advantages  of  organic  union,  the  separate  congre- 
gations were  to  surrender  certain  of  their  powers 
to  the  presbytery  and  synod.  That  was  the  con- 
cession to  Presbyterianism.  Precisely  what  those 
powers  were  was  to  appear  in  a  constitution ;  and 
such  powers  as  were  not  thus  conceded  were  to 
be  retained  by  the  congregations.  Upon  this  basis 
a  constitution  was  written  and  rewritten  and 
written  again.  No  time,  no  trouble,  no  patience 
was  spared,  and  the  negotiations  continued  for  a 
year  or  two.    But  in  the  end  the  plan  failed. 

The  majority  of  the  Congregational  mission- 
aries were  in  favor  of  the  union  and  some  of  them 
did  all  in  their  power  to  bring  it  about ;  but  several 
of  them  were  strongly  adverse  to  it,  on  the  groimd 
that  it  was  a  surrender  of  liberty.  The  influence 
of  Dr.  Nishima  also  was  quietly  but  persistently 
exercised  in  opposition.  Certain  Congregation- 
alists  in  America  raised  objections;  and  at  a  crit- 
ical time  a  telegram  from  the  American  Board 
was  received  counseling  delay.  But  apart  from 
these  forces,  there  was  a  difficulty  which  it  was 
hard  to  meet.  Congregationalism  has  no  body 
like  a  synod  with  authority  to  speak  definitely 
and  finally;  and  in  the  end  the  decision  always 
remained  with  the  local  churches.  That  was  the 
shoal  upon  which  the  ship  grounded. 


100     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

But  while  the  endeavor  failed,  the  attempt  is 
not  to  be  regretted.    If  it  had  not  been  made  there 
would  have  been  a  widespread  feeling  that  a  great 
opportunity  had  been  neglected.    In  various  ways 
also   the    experience    was    an    education    to   the 
church.    In  view  of  later  developments  there  are 
many  who  regard  the  failure  to  unite  as  a  blessing 
in  disguise;  but  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  that 
opinion  is  correct.     No  doubt  there  would  have 
been  trouble,  and  possibly  a  division.     But  not  a 
division  on  the  old  lines.    The  outcome,  I  am  in- 
clined to  think,  would  have  been  a  church  com- 
prising the  majority  of  both  bodies,  and  represent- 
ing the  evangelical  type  of  Christianity;  and  a 
smaller  church  representing  the  rationalistic  type. 
That  would  not  have  been  without  its  advantages. 
The  first  Book  of  Government  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  in  Japan  was  little  other  than  a  transla- 
tion of  our  own  book.     Gradually,  however,  it 
became  evident  that  a  revision  was  called  for  in 
order  to  meet  the  conditions  existing.     Such  a 
revision   was   made   by   the   synod    in    1890,    or 
shortly  after  the  negotiations  for  union  with  the 
Congregational  churches  were  ended.    The  work 
was  done  with  great  care. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  one  on  comparing 
the  new  Book  with  the  old  one  is  the  principle 
of  arrangement.  The  new  Book  is  divided  into 
three  parts:  The  Constitution,  the  Canons,  and 
the  Appendix.  The  Constitution  contains  the  fun- 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  loi 

damental  principles  of  the  system;  and  can  be 
changed  only  by  a  process  as  carefully  guarded 
as  that  of  our  own  book.  The  Canons  are  laws 
based  upon  the  Constitution,  but  which  with  due 
notice  can  be  changed  by  a  two-thirds'  vote  of 
the  synod.  The  Appendix  contains  forms  of  pro- 
cedure, added  as  helps  to  orderly  administration, 
but  not  enjoined  as  necessarily  to  be  followed. 
To  illustrate :  The  office,  powers,  and  duties,  of  the 
elder  are  laid  down  in  the  Constitution;  the  law 
that  election  to  the  eldership  take  place  at  a  meet- 
ing announced  on  two  successive  Sundays  is  one 
of  the  Canons;  while  certain  passages  of  the 
Scriptures  and  a  charge  suitable  to  be  read  at 
the  time  of  his  ordination  appear  in  the  Appen- 
dix. This  principle  of  arrangement  was  adopted 
in  order  clearly  to  distinguish  between  things 
essential  and  things  only  locally  or  temporarily 
expedient ;  and  also  in  order  to  greater  facility  in 
changing  the  written  law  so  as  to  meet  such  exi- 
gencies as  may  from  time  to  time  arise.  It  may 
however  be  said  that  the  general  feeling  of  the 
synod  has  been  averse  to  change. 

It  would  take  too  long,  and  is  not  worth  while 
to  enumerate  in  detail  all  the  differences  between 
the  old  book  and  the  new.  Two  specimens  will 
suffice : — 

The  proper  relation  of  the  missionary  to  the 
presbytery  in  the  foreign  field  has  given  rise  to 
much  discussion.     Should  he  be  only  an  adviser? 


102     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

or,  Should  he  be  a  regular  member?  The  old 
book  allowed  a  missionary,  as  a  missionary — not 
as  a  presbyter — to  be  a  member  of  the  presbytery 
in  full  standing,  while  still  continuing  his  mem- 
bership in  a  presbytery  at  home;  though  he  was 
not  under  the  discipline  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Japan.  According  to  the  new  book,  he  may  take 
his  choice.  He  may  bring  his  letter  from  home, 
and  become  a  full  member  of  the  presbytery  in 
Japan,  or  he  may  retain  his  connection  with  the 
presbytery  at  home  and  become  an  advisory 
member,  with  the  right  to  speak,  to  introduce 
resolutions,  and  to  serve  on  committees,  but  with- 
out the  right  to  vote  in  presbytery.  Advisory 
members  of  presbytery  may  also  be  elected  to 
serve  as  advisory  members  of  synod.  I  myself 
chose  the  first  alternative,  and  am  a  minister  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan.  That  was  my 
preference  as  well  as  the  advice  of  our  own 
General  Assembly. 

One  of  the  lessons  of  the  work  in  Japan  is 
the  one  which  Paul  had  learned  when  he  wrote 
to  Timothy,  *'Lay  hands  hastily  on  no  man."  It  is 
also  clear  that  a  church  should  not  be  organized 
as  a  church  until  it  gives  promise  of  stability  and 
growth.  What  then  is  to  be  done  with  companies 
of  believers  not  yet  ready  for  organization  ?  Un- 
der the  old  book,  such  converts  were  made  mem- 
bers of  some  church,  usually  that  of  the  minister 
who  baptized  them;  but  the  plan  did  not  work 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  103 

well.  Owing  to  distance  it  often  happened  that 
the  converts  were  seldom  visited;  and  some- 
times it  happened  that  difficulties  arose  from  the 
fact  that  they  were  members  of  different  con- 
gregations even  though  they  resided  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  Under  the  new  book,  all  such 
converts  are  enrolled  in  a  register  kept  by  the 
clerk  of  the  presbytery,  and  are  put  under  the 
care  of  an  evangelist  or  lay  preacher.  The  book 
also  gives  to  such  companies  of  believers  certain 
rights. 

The  same  synod  that  revised  the  Book  of  Gov- 
ernment also  adopted  a  new  Confession  of  Faith, 
the  one,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  upon  which  the 
church  was  received  into  the  membership  of  the 
alliance  of  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  churches. 

The  story  of  the  adoption  of  this  Confession 
runs  back  to  the  earliest  days  of  the  church. 
From  the  beginning  the  Japanese  were  in  favor 
of  a  brief  simple  creed,  though  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  missionaries  they  accepted  as  stand- 
ards of  doctrine,  the  Westminster  Confession,  the 
Canons  of  the  Synod  of  Dort,  the  Shorter  and  the 
Heidelberg  Catechisms.  Later,  there  was  a  move- 
ment to  limit  the  standards  to  one  or  both  of  the 
catechisms;  but  again  the  influence  of  the  mis- 
sionaries prevailed.  Ten  years  passed ;  the  church 
had  grown  greatly  in  numbers ;  and  the  situation 
was  this: — 

The  two  catechisms  had  been  widely  taught  and 


io4     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

a  commentary  on  one  of  them  was  in  general  use, 
but  the  Westminster  Confession  had  failed  to 
gain  a  hold,  and  the  Canons  of  the  Synod  of 
Dort  were  hardly  known  by  name.  The  leaders 
of  the  church  were  now  older  in  years  and  expe- 
rience; and  with  most  of  them  the  feeling  had 
strengthened  with  the  years  that  no  one  of  the 
standards  was  the  Confession  of  Faith  adapted 
to  the  requirements  of  the  church  in  Japan.  Some 
were  in  favor  of  writing  a  new  Confession,  but 
the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  that  were  obvious. 
Finally  the  committee — the  same  one  which  re- 
vised the  Book  of  Government — agreed,  as  the 
thing  most  practicable,  to  recommend  to  the 
synod  the  revision  of  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion then  recently  adopted  by  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  England.  Those  Articles  were  there- 
fore translated  and  circulated,  along  with  a  com- 
mendatory statement,  throughout  the  church,  for 
six. months  before  the  meeting  of  synod.  But 
before  the  synod  met  it  was  quite  clear  that  the 
English  Articles  would  not  be  accepted.  There 
were  evidently  many  who  favored  the  Apostles' 
Creed  instead;  and  shortly  after  the  opening  of 
the  synod  a  resolution  to  that  effect  was  intro- 
duced. 

Then  followed  the  most  memorable  discussion 
ever  held  by  the  synod  either  before  or  since. 
The  argument  in  favor  of  the  Apostles'  Creed 
was  this: — 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  105 

The  church  of  Christ  in  every  land  and  every 
age  should  have  a  Confession  suited  to  its  own 
peculiar  needs.  The  church  of  the  Nicene  Age 
formulated  the  Nicene  Creed;  the  churches  of 
the  Reformation,  the  Reformation  Confessions; 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  England  has  just 
adopted  the  English  Articles;  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  America  is  revising  the  Westminster 
Confession;  and  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan 
should  follow  in  these  footsteps.  This  being  the 
case,  what  should  be  the  characteristics  of  the 
creed  of  the  church  at  this  stage  in  its  history? 

Such  a  Confession  should  be  brief  and  simple ; 
not  an  elaborate  system  of  theology.  Such  a 
Confession  should  be  one  for  the  whole  church; 
not  for  ministers  and  elders  alone,  but  for  the 
people  also.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  minis- 
ter's knowledge  of  the  truths  confessed  should  be 
no  broader  or  deeper  than  that  of  the  people.  But 
all  belong  to  one  church,  and  there  should  be 
one  Confession  for  all.  A  creed  which  all  repeat 
and  which  all  understand.  A  confession  of  the 
faith  of  the  church.  Such  a  confession  should 
be  irenic  toward  all  who  bear  the  name  of  Christ. 
The  church  in  Japan  is  face  to  face  with  Bud- 
dhism, Confucianism,  agnosticism,  and  rational- 
ism. Its  Confession  should  therefore  set  forth 
the  great  essential  facts  of  Christianity;  but  it 
should  not  be  a  symbol  dividing  those  who  wor- 
ship Jesus  Christ  as  Teacher,  Master,  Saviour, 


io6     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

and  Lord.  Especially  is  this  seen  to  be  true 
when  it  is  remembered  that  in  Japan,  counting 
them  all  together,  they  are  only  a  little  band. 
The  Apostles'  Creed  meets  these  conditions.  It 
is  brief  and  simple ;  it  is  a  Confession  for  minis- 
ters and  people  alike;  it  sets  forth  the  essential 
facts  of  Christianity.  In  addition  to  this  it  is 
the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Universal  Church. 
That  was  the  argument  in  favor  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed. 

The  argument  in  reply  was  this:  Admitting 
the  duty  of  a  church  to  adopt  a  Confession  suited 
to  its  own  peculiar  needs,  admitting  also  that 
much  may  be  said  in  favor  of  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
it  still  remains  true  that  the  Apostles'  Creed  alone 
does  not  meet  the  needs  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
in  Japan  to-day.  There  are  truths  of  transcendent 
importance  which  are  contained  in  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  if  at  all,  only  by  implication :  The  atone- 
ment, justification,  and  sanctification  in  Christ, 
the  need  of  the  regenerating  grace  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  the  supremacy  of  the  Scriptures.  These 
are  vital  truths  which  are  denied  in  Japan  to-day ; 
and  therefore  they  should  not  only  be  believed  by 
the  church,  but  proclaimed  in  its  Confession. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  further  dis- 
cussion was  postponed,  and  all  sat  down  together 
at  the  Table  of  the  Lord.  The  next  morning  when 
the  synod  assembled,  a  Confession  was  presented 
which  it  was  hoped  would  meet  with  approval. 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  107 

In  form  it  was  the  Apostles'  Creed,  which  was 
what  so  many  desired,  with  an  introductory 
statement  containing  the  truths  which  it  was  gen- 
erally agreed  called  for  confession,  and  so  cast 
as  to  be  suited  for  public  recital.  On  hearing  it 
read,  one  after  another  expressed  his  approval. 
It  was  then  copied  on  great  sheets  of  paper  and 
tacked  on  the  wall  behind  the  pulpit,  so  that  all 
might  study  it.  This  went  on  for  two  hours; 
and  then  the  Confession  was  adopted  with  deep 
feeling. 

It  had  been  a  time  of  great  anxiety.  Some  had 
even  feared  that  the  discussion  would  end  in  a 
schism.  The  relief  that  followed  a  unanimous 
decision  can  therefore  be  easily  understood.  The 
senior  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  Mission 
thus  described  the  scene:  "How  great  was  the 
joy  and  gratitude  words  cannot  tell.  The  Modera- 
tor offered  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving  with  a  full 
and  overflowing  heart.  Sobbing  was  heard  all 
over  the  house;  tears  of  sorrow  were  displaced 
by  tears  of  joy."  The  Confession  is  so  brief  that 
I  will  read  it: — 

"The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whom  we  worship  as 
God,  the  Only  Begotten  Son  of  God,  for  us  men 
and  for  our  salvation  was  made  man  and  suffered. 
He  offered  up  a  perfect  sacrifice  for  sin ;  and  all 
who  are  one  with  him  by  faith  are  pardoned  and 
accounted  righteous;  and  faith  in  him  working 
by  love  purifies  the  heart. 


io8     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

"The  Holy  Ghost,  who  with  the  Father  and  the 
Son  is  worshiped  and  glorified,  reveals  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  soul;  and  without  his  grace  man 
being  dead  in  sin  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of 
God.  By  him  the  prophets  and  apostles  and  holy 
men  of  old  were  inspired ;  and  he  speaking  in  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  is 
supreme  and  infallible  judge  in  all  things  per- 
taining unto  faith  and  living. 

''From  these  Holy  Scriptures  the  ancient 
Church  of  Christ  drew  its  Confession;  and  we, 
holding  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  Saints, 
join  in  that  Confession  with  praise  and  thanksgiv- 
ing."    (Then  follows  the  Apostles'  Creed.) 

Nothing  in  the  history  of  Christianity  is  more 
clear  than  that  in  the  end  the  evangelization  of  a 
nation  depends  upon  the  church  in  the  nation.  It 
was  therefore  of  the  highest  importance  that  as 
early  as  possible  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan 
should  be  led  as  a  church  to  feel  its  responsibility, 
and  at  least  begin  the  work  seriously  and  system- 
atically. The  pathway  along  which  this  endeavor 
has  moved  has  been  long,  and  at  times  has  led 
over  rough  places.  To  those  interested  in  ques- 
tions of  missionary  policy  the  story  is  highly  in- 
structive. It  comprises  four  distinct  periods,  each 
of  which  has  features  sharply  distinguishing  it 
from  all  the  others. 

The  first  period  began  as  long  ago  as  1879. 
At  that  time,  several  of  the  churches  which  had 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  109 

united  in  an  attempt  to  carry  on  evangelistic  work 
requested  the  Presbytery,  then  the  highest  eccle- 
siastical body,  to  organize  a  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions. This  was  done,  funds  were  contributed 
by  a  number  of  the  congregations,  and  much 
pains  were  taken  both  by  Japanese  and  mission- 
aries to  carry  on  the  work  successfully.  But  the 
funds  available  were  so  small  that  after  four 
years  of  trial  the  plan  was  given  up  and  the  Board 
dissolved.     That  was  the  first  attempt. 

The  second  period  may  be  described  as  that  of 
mission  control  and  Japanese  counsel.  At  that 
early  time,  as  could  hardly  have  been  otherwise, 
the  systematic  evangelistic  work  was  almost 
wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  missions.  It  was 
thought  that  their  counsel  would  be  valuable,  and 
that  their  interest  in  systematic  evangelistic  work 
would  be  increased.  These  conferences  were 
very  pleasant;  but  the  Japanese  had  no  real  re- 
sponsibility in  the  management  of  affairs,  and 
without  that  stimulus  the  ends  hoped  for  failed 
of  accomplishment.  The  attempt  was  therefore 
fruitless  of  results,  saving  in  so  far  as  it  led  the 
way  to  something  better.  So  small  was  its  influ- 
ence in  the  history  of  the  church  that  many  of 
the  younger  missionaries  and  Japanese  ministers 
probably  do  not  know  that  the  plan  was  ever 
tried. 

The  third  period,  beginning  in  1886,  may  be 
described   as  that  of  financial   cooperation   and 


no     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

joint  control.  At  the  instance  of  the  Council  of 
Missions,  the  synod  elected  a  Board  composed 
in  equal  numbers  of  missionaries  and  Japanese; 
and  each  presbytery,  a  committee  chosen  on  the 
same  principle.  The  powers  of  the  Board  were 
virtually  limited  to  the  collection  of  funds  and 
their  distribution  among  the  presbyterial  com- 
mittees, the  direct  management  of  affairs  being 
intrusted  to  the  committees.  In  favor  of  this 
arrangement  it  was  argued  that  no  men  are  so 
well  qualified  to  manage  the  work  in  a  particular 
presbytery  as  the  members  of  that  presbytery. 
On  this  basis  the  Council  of  Missions  agreed  that 
it  would  contribute  three  dollars  for  every  one 
dollar  raised  by  the  church.  Into  this  plan  all 
entered  cordially,  and  for  a  number  of  years  it 
succeeded.  The  church  contributed  funds  and 
work  was  done.  In  some  cases,  much  of  the  evan- 
gelistic work  that  belonged  to  the  missions  was 
really  though  not  in  name  under  the  direction  of 
the  presbyterial  committees.  But  gradually  inter- 
est and  confidence  in  the  plan  began  to  wane. 
The  chief  argument  against  it,  pressed  with  in- 
creasing urgency  by  the  Japanese,  was  that  it 
was  not  effective.  There  was  too  great  a  division 
of  responsibility;  and  they  advocated  instead  the 
appointment  by  the  synod  of  a  Board  which 
should  carry  on  the  work  directly  and  without 
the  intervention  of  presbyterial  committees.  To 
this  plan  a  number  objected  as  being  character- 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  in 

ized  by  too  great  centralization  of  power;  and 
this  fundamental  difference  in  opinion  led  to  the 
abandonment  of  the  plan  of  financial  coopera- 
tion and  joint  control,  and  the  adoption  of  the 
one  now  in  operation. 

The  fourth  and  present  period,  beginning  in 
1894,  may  be  described  as  that  of  financial  inde- 
pendence and  synodical  control.  A  Board  is 
elected  by  the  synod^,  care  being  taken  that  all 
the  presbyteries  shall  be  represented.  This  Board 
has  the  general  care  of  the  work;  but  the  direct 
management  is  intrusted  to  an  Executive  Com- 
mittee most  of  whose  members  reside  in  Tokyo 
or  the  vicinity.  A  part  of  the  income  is  derived 
from  the  personal  gifts  of  individual  missiona- 
ries; but  only  a  small  part.  The  funds  come  al- 
most wholly  from  the  Japanese  Church,  and  for 
the  greater  part  from  congregations  not  receiving 
financial  aid  from  the  missions.  During  the  first 
year  the  income  was  only  $281 ;  during  last  year 
it  was  nearly  $4000.  It  is  still  a  day  of  small 
things,  but  not  a  day  to  be  despised.  There  may 
yet  be  given  to  this  Board  a  place  in  the  evangeli- 
zation of  the  nation  that  does  not  yet  appear. 

To  a  considerable  extent  the  policy  of  the 
Board  has  been  to  select  congregations  of  more  or 
less  promise  and  bring  them  to  self-support.  In 
this  work  it  has  certain  advantages  over  a  mis- 
sion. Its  more  intimate  knowledge  with  regard 
both  to  places  and  to  men  makes  it  better  able  to 


112     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

select  the  right  man  for  the  right  place.  It  can 
approach  and  influence  a  congregation  as  few 
foreigners  can.  The  fact  also  that  the  most  of 
its  funds  come  from  the  Japanese  Church  enables 
it  to  bring  a  peculiar  pressure  upon  those  whom 
it  aids. 

The  most  interesting  work  now  carried  on  by 
the  Board  is  in  the  Island  of  Formosa,  which 
after  the  war  with  China  became  a  part  of  Japan. 
The  greater  part  of  the  population  are  Chinese, 
or  the  savage  tribes  in  the  mountains ;  but  already 
there  are  some  forty  or  fifty  thousand  Japanese 
there,  and  the  work  of  the  Board  for  the  present 
is  among  them.  So  far  as  mere  numbers  are 
concerned  this  may  not  seem  impressive,  but  the 
importance  and  promise  of  the  field  are  to  be  seen 
rather  in  the  character  of  those  flocking  in  and 
in  the  general  situation.  New  fields  for  enter- 
prise are  rapidly  opening;  and  the  men  who  are 
entering  them  are  men  of  energy.  Along  with 
the  new  life  there  is  everywhere  apparent  a  break- 
ing away  from  old  ties  and  old  prejudices.  To 
this  it  may  be  added  that  exceptional  opportuni- 
ties are  afiforded  in  Formosa  to  meet  with  officials 
and  officers  in  the  army,  temporarily  there  on 
duty,  who  will  carry  the  knowledge  of  Christian- 
ity wherever  they  may  go.  Already  the  Board 
has  a  good  work  well  begun.  It  has  two  churches, 
one  of  which  is  self-supporting ;  and  besides  these 
a  number  of  companies  of  Christians  which  give 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  113 

every  promise  of  soon  growing  into  churches. 
In  April  of  the  year  1900,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
EvangeHcal  AlHance  of  Japan,  it  was  decided  to 
make  the  beginning  of  the  new  century  a  time  for 
special  evangelistic  work  throughout  the  empire; 
and  this  decision  was  carried  into  effect  with 
much  painstaking. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  the  rapid  advance 
of  Christianity,  it  was,  as  I  have  said,  the  custom 
to  hold  great  meetings  in  theaters.  But  circum- 
stances had  changed;  and  the  plan  in  Tokyo  at 
least  was  to  select  special  districts,  one  after  an- 
other, and  to  hold  meetings  every  night  in  all 
the  churches  in  the  district.  In  each  church  a 
band  of  volunteers  was  organized,  who  pledged 
themselves  to  special  prayer,  to  attend  all  the 
meetings,  and  to  see  that  the  various  methods 
adopted  to  attract  persons  to  the  meetings  were 
faithfully  carried  on.  Thus  the  local  church  was 
made  the  center  of  work. 

In  order  to  attract  hearers  to  the  meetings, 
various  means  were  employed.  Placards  were 
posted  in  hotels,  barber  shops,  bath  houses,  and 
other  public  places.  These  placards  were  about 
fifteen  inches  wide  and  twenty  long ;  and  some  of 
them  were  very  attractive.  The  one  to  my  mind 
the  most  so  had  two  flags  crossed,  one  of  them 
the  Japanese  flag,  with  its  red  rising  sun  in  the 
center,  and  the  other  having  for  its  center  a  red 
Greek  cross.     Besides  a  notice  of  the  times  and 


ii4     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

places  of  the  meetings,  was  an  invitation  which 
may  be  rendered  thus:  "How  did  you  come  into 
this  world?  Why  were  you  born  into  it?  When 
you  die,  where  are  you  going?  All  who  want  to 
know  come  to  the  meetings.  We  will  tell  you 
very  simply.  Young  and  old,  men  and  women, 
come  and  welcome.  We  will  show  you  how  to 
serve  God,  and  how  to  serve  man."  Besides  post- 
ing the  placards,  invitations  printed  on  red  paper 
were  scattered  far  and  wide ;  in  Tokyo  alone  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand.  Some  of  the  pastors 
sent  out  large  numbers  of  personal  invitations  to 
persons  known  to  have  more  or  less  knowledge 
of  Christianity,  a  plan  which  produced  excellent 
results.  The  attempt  was  also  made  by  house  to 
house  visitation  to  extend  an  invitation  to  all  re- 
siding in  the  neighborhood  of  the  churches  in 
which  the  meetings  were  held.  And  to  mention 
only  one  thing  more,  processions  were  formed 
which  marched  through  the  streets  headed  by 
streaming  banners.  All  this  in  a  city  where, 
within  the  memory  of  many  looking  on,  notice 
boards  were  set  up  declaring  Christianity  a  capi- 
tal crime;  and  in  whose  public  museum  to-day 
are  exhibited  the  brass  plates  with  raised  figures 
of  Christ  on  the  cross,  worn  almost  smooth  by 
the  feet  of  those  who  were  required  to  trample 
on  them  in  proof  that  they  were  not  Christians. 
As  a  result  the  churches  were  filled.  In  some 
cases  people  went  away  because  there  was  no 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  115 

more  room;  and  with  hardly  an  exception  those 
who  came  Hstened  respectfully  and  attentively. 
The  character  of  the  preaching  was  evangelical, 
but  not  of  any  one  particular  type.  God  is  our 
Father ;  Christ  is  a  divine  Saviour ;  man  is  a  sin- 
ner; sin  is  debt,  bondage,  death;  Christianity 
offers  atonement,  forgiveness,  a  new  life;  man 
should  repent,  should  confide  in  Christ,  should 
go  to  God  in  prayer.  One  preacher  laid  emphasis 
on  one  truth,  another  on  another.  Nor  can  it  be 
said  that  any  one  truth,  or  any  one  way  of  pre- 
senting the  truth  was  preeminently  effective. 

The  methods  followed  in  conducting  the  meet- 
ings were  the  ones  familiar  to  those  who  have 
attended  such  meetings  in  America.  In  fact  the 
whole  movement  was  modeled  upon  foreign 
methods.  At  the  close  of  the  preaching  those 
willing  to  express  a  desire  to  become  Christians 
were  invited  to  raise  a  hand  or  to  stand.  Such 
persons  were  then  formed  into  groups  assigned 
to  leaders  for  personal  instruction.  The  leaders 
also  took  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  inquir- 
ers in  order  that  the  church  might  keep  in  touch 
with  them.  During  this  time  of  conversation  the 
Christians  not  so  engaged  gathered  in  front  of 
the  pulpit  for  prayer.  Arrangements  were  also 
made  for  the  further  instruction  of  those  who 
were  willing  to  receive  it. 

There  were  three  classes  of  inquirers:  Many 
knew  practically  nothing  about  Christianity  be- 


ii6     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

yond  the  name;  a  considerable  number  had  a 
very  general  knowledge  of  it;  and  some  knew  a 
good  deal  about  it.  This  knowledge  had  come 
from  the  gradual  spread  of  Christian  ideas 
through  the  introduction  of  foreign  literature, 
the  press,  and  contact  in  various  ways  with  the 
civilization  of  the  West;  from  the  dissemination 
of  distinctively  Christian  literature  in  Japan ; 
from  the  influence,  direct  and  indirect,  of  Chris- 
tian schools;  and  from  occasional  listening  to 
Christian  preaching.  By  common  consent  the 
questions  asked  by  inquirers  were  as  a  rule  less 
crude,  and  the  knowledge  of  Christianity  pos- 
sessed by  them  greater,  than  was  the  case  with 
those  of  the  first  movement  toward  Christianity 
already  described. 

The  work  was  carried  on  in  many  places,  and, 
as  appears  from  the  statistics  afterwards  pub- 
lished, with  numerically  large  results.  The  num- 
ber of  attendants  upon  the  services  is  given  as 
359,275;  of  inquirers,  as  15,440;  of  converts  as 
1,181.  No  doubt  it  is  true  that  a  number  were 
gathered  in  who  before  had  known  little  or  noth- 
ing of  Christianity ;  and  a  still  greater  number  of 
those  who  had  a  greater  knowledge  of  it.  In 
some  cases  also  churches  were  permanently 
strengthened.  But  the  movement  did  not  fulfill 
the  hopes  which  many  cherished.  In  notable 
cases  churches  which  had  taken  the  part  of  lead- 
ers, and  had  received  many  by  baptism,  two  years 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  117 

later  were  apparently  little  stronger  than  they 
were  before  the  movement  began;  and  the  inter- 
est in  an  attempt  to  revive  and  continue  the  move- 
ment soon  passed  away.  It  was  the  right  thing 
to  do  at  the  time,  and  no  doubt  good  was  done  by 
it;  but  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  exalt  the 
value  of  such  methods  to  the  injury  of  the 
patient,  quiet,  systematic  work  of  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions,  the  schools,  and  the  churches. 
It  is  the  old  story:  There  is  no  short  and  easy 
road  to  the  evangelization  of  a  nation.  If  there 
were,  Japan  would  be  evangelized  to-day.  We 
are  all  familiar  with  the  motto,  "The  evangeliza- 
tion of  the  world  in  this  generation."  I  myself 
have  seen  evangelistic  work  carried  on  in  Japan 
for  a  generation;  carried  on  by  a  strong  force, 
with  great  energy,  and  under  exceptionally 
favorable  circumstances.  Yet  Japan  to-day  is 
far  from  being  evangelized  in  any  sense  of  the 
word  worthy  the  name.  The  evangelization  of 
the  world  is  by  no  means  merely  a  question  of 
strong  and  loyal  battalions,  though  strong  and 
loyal  battalions  are  a  necessary  instrument.  It 
is  no  less  a  question  of  psychology;  of  the  psy- 
chology of  the  natural  man;  of  the  natural  man 
born  and  reared  under  the  molding  power  of 
Buddhism,  Brahmanism,  Confucianism,  Ma- 
hometanism,  or  some  other  system  of  thought. 
Nor  is  it  simply  an  abstract  question  as  to  what 
God  can  do.     The  question  as  to  what  God  can 


ii8     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

do  immediately  raises  the  question  as  to  what  God 
in  his  wisdom  will  do ;  and  the  question  as  to  what 
God  will  do,  immediately  asks,  What  has  God 
done?  It  is  the  will  of  God  that  all  men  be 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  God  is 
a  spirit,  infinite,  eternal,  unchangeable,  in  his 
power,  wisdom,  goodness,  and  truth.  Yet  nine- 
teen hundred  years  have  passed,  and  still  the 
world  is  not  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth.  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  teach  all  the 
nations."  That  is  the  command,  that  is  plain; 
in  the  doing  of  it  there  is  great  reward ;  and  the 
church  has  never  yet  done  all  its  duty.  But  the 
times  and  the  seasons  the  Father  hath  kept  with- 
in his  own  authority. 

There  is  still  another  event  that  well  deserves 
a  place  among  the  things  to  be  remembered. 
In  August,  1899,  there  appeared  in  the  Official 
Gazette  a  notice  from  the  Minister  of  Education 
to  the  effect  that  no  instruction  in  religion  should 
be  given,  and  no  religious  services  held,  in  any 
government  school  or  in  any  school  sharing  the 
privileges  of  the  government  schools;  not  even 
outside  the  regular  course  of  instruction. 

No  one  of  course  in  a  land  which  is  the  meeting 
place  of  Shintoism,  Buddhism,  Confucianism, 
and  Christianity,  questioned  the  propriety  of  such 
a  regulation  for  schools  maintained  by  public 
funds.  But  it  was  felt  to  be  a  real  grievance  in 
the  case  of  those  maintained  by  private  funds; 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  119 

and  the  notice  put  the  Christian  high  schools 
for  boys  in  peril  of  gradual  extinction.  For  it 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  boys  would  long 
continue  to  attend  schools  where  they  would  have 
to  forego  such  privileges  as  those  of  the  postpone- 
ment of  conscription  and  the  right  to  enter  the 
institutions  preparatory  to  the  University,  and 
the  University  itself. 

That  was  the  situation;  but  the  course  to  be 
pursued  was  clear.  The  principle  that  schools 
professedly  Christian  should  be  in  fact  Christian 
institutions  could  not  be  given  up ;  and,  with  one 
exception,  those  in  charge  of  the  Christian  schools 
for  boys  took  action  surrendering  the  government 
privileges.  Then  began  a  long  series  of  nego- 
tiations with  the  Department  of  Education. 
Those  negotiations,  together  with  a  number  of 
interviews  with  leading  statesmen  in  Japan,  make 
a  story  full  of  interest.  But  suffice  it  to  say  that  in 
the  end  patience  and  perseverance  were  crowned 
with  success.  This  success  was  made  public 
by  a  slight  amendment  in  one  of  the  regulations 
for  schools.  "The  world  at  large,"  says  a  recent 
writer  on  the  education  of  young  men  in  Japan, 
"took  little  notice  of  this  brief  announcement ;  but 
it  marked  the  satisfactory  conclusion  of  negotia- 
tions extending  over  nearly  five  years,  the  solu- 
tion of  one  of  our  most  difficult  problems,  and  the 
opening  of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  missions 
in  Japan."     It  was  in  fact  the  establishment  in 


120     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

Japan  of  the  principle  of  religious  freedom  in 
education  in  institutions  maintained  by  private 
funds.  In  the  establishment  of  this  principle  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan  did  its  full  share. 

In  any  thoughtful  mind  the  great  events  in  the 
history  of  a  nation,  called  to  a  place  of  precedence, 
cannot  but  awaken  the  deepest  interest;  and  of 
none  is  this  so  true  as  of  him  who  holds  it  for 
foundation  truth  that  God  reigns.  For  the  his- 
tory of  such  a  nation  is  in  a  peculiar  sense  a  reve- 
lation of  God's  presence  in  the  world.  And  how 
fast  events  of  marked  significance  have  followed 
one  another  in  the  history  of  Japan !  We  mission- 
aries in  Japan  have  seen  strange  things,  and  so 
many  of  them. 

This  history  of  Japan  during  the  past  fifty  years 
has  been  a  wonderful  history.  The  opening  of 
the  nation  to  the  world  after  long  and  strict 
seclusion;  the  Restoration  of  the  Emperor;  the 
Imperial  Pledge  that  Japan  should  seek  for 
knowledge  far  and  wide;  the  introduction  of  the 
railroad,  the  newspaper,  the  university ;  the  enact- 
ment of  new  codes  of  law;  government  under  a 
constitution;  admission  to  a  place  of  equality 
among  the  nations  of  the  world ;  the  achievement 
of  singular  prestige  under  circumstances  calling 
for  a  high  degree  of  energy  and  wisdom ;  the  con- 
clusion of  a  great  war,  in  self-control  and  modera- 
tion ;  the  founding  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  That 
is  a  wonderful  succession  of  events  to  be  crowded 


NOTABLE  EVENTS  121 

into  the  short  span  of  half  a  century;  and  now 
Japan  is  entering  a  new  stage  in  her  own  career, 
and,  what  is  of  transcendent  moment  to  all  east- 
ern Asia,  a  place  preeminent  for  influence  in 
Korea  and  the  vast  empire  of  China.  In  all  this, 
is  there  no  call  to  us?  Are  we  to  sit  simply  as 
spectators  idly  gazing  on  the  passing  scenes  of 
a  painted  panorama? 

There  are  nations  and  there  are  nations.  There 
are  nations  that  are  no  nations,  but  mere  races  of 
people,  without  achievements,  without  a  history, 
that  in  the  drama  of  history  of  the  world  count 
for  nothing.  The  Malays  are  such  a  people.  But 
there  are  nations  which  are  nations;  nations  of 
great  achievements;  nations  with  a  splendid  his- 
tory; nations  which  in  the  grand  drama  of  the 
world's  history  count  for  everything.  The  Jews 
were  such  a  nation;  the  Greeks  were  such  a 
nation,  and  the  Romans.  England  is  such  a 
nation,  and  this  England  of  ours  between  the 
oceans.  And,  unless  all  signs  fail — signs  in  the 
heavens  above  and  signs  in  the  earth  beneath — 
Japan  is  such  a  nation.  An  elect  race,  a  chosen 
people,  a  nation  called;  called  to  honor  as  a  na- 
tion, and  called  to  service  in  the  world — the  great 
wide  world  of  Asia.  And  in  all  this  there  is  a  call 
to  us  too.  For  we  too  are  an  elect  race,  a  chosen 
people,  a  nation  called.  Called  to  glory  as  a 
nation;  called  to  the  far  more  excellent  glory  of 
service  to  the  world;  and  called  to-day  with  a 


122     THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  IN  JAPAN 

high  caUing,  at  this  momentous  hour  in  her  his- 
tory, to  do  our  best,  our  very  best,  to  help  Japan 
to  make  her  caUing  and  election  sure. 


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The  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan; 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00018  9359 


